The Port Sabo Disaster
by Commander Aron
Summary: It seemed like a fantasy for one lucky sailor. Commanding females with the personalities of WWII-era warships on a island naval base. And he had it all...until disaster struck. (Game fandom references included) Also taking OC Shipgirls (Both Warships and Auxiliaries: See Chapter 10)
1. Prelude to Tragedy

**A/N : As my first fan-fiction, I based this off of the Port Chicago Disaster of 1944 , the Texas City Disaster of 1947, and the Halifax Disaster of 1917, but wanted the scenario to seem as if it involved an entire naval base. There will be a way for revival, so don't worry. **

**I am also taking OC shipgirls (Only ones not implemented in the game...yet)**

** Enjoy.**

_**Chapter 1: Prelude**_

* * *

Located a few miles on an island in the middle of Kure Bay, was a naval base. Only about a mile wide, and known to locals as 'Sabo Island', it was a very big naval district.

But unlike any other in the world, this one was different:

numerous dorms,

a café,

a main office,

a recreation area,

a gymnasium,

a running track,

a communications building,

an ammunition storage warehouse,

a huge bath house,

and a small dock area, all surrounded by a 10-foot high red brick wall with an iron gate for the entrance.

Outside the brick wall was a small-sized train station, right next to a medium sized rail yard and locomotive depot; all connected to a branchline that connected the island with a 200-foot long truss bridge, terminating at a small junction station.

As usual, the admiral was doing his morning routine: get up at 6 am, jog around the track and then swim a few laps by the docks for about 30 minutes, before heading to breakfast.

At 24-years old, 5'9, with a trimmed goatee, a well-built body and a short, trimmed mullet, James "Deadeye" Kouichi was like any other Admiral: he finally got to live the dream he always wanted.

But his position of admiral was different: instead of commanding regular combat ships, he was commanding women and little girls that possessed the spirit of warships dating back to the Second World War.

All of the ship girls under his command, totaling 200, all respected and thought of him as someone to look up to, like a father of some sort. Well...except a few of the girls, who thought of him as a pervert. Besides, who wouldn't want to be surrounded by a whole bunch of beautiful girls?

After he finished breakfast, James went with one of the destroyers; Fourth Akatsuki-class destroyer Inazuma, who decided to accompany him that morning, to check off some papers regarding rail deliveries, most of being ammunition, fuel, and rakes of hopper cars loaded to the brim with fresh-mined bauxite, to satisfy carrier Akagi's insanely massive appetite.

After checking the list of freight cars he wanted sent back to the local yard outside Kure, and seeing the local freight train head off for the mainland with 20 empty cars, the both of them turned around and were just about to open the gate, when they heard a muffled explosion, coming from the main ammunition hangar.

Worried, she asked, horrified, "Hawawawa, Kouichi-san, what was that, nanodesu!?"

As he tried to open the gate as fast as he could, Inazuma screamed as they were blown backwards by force, after being hit by the shockwave from a massive, deafening explosion.

At that moment, as the concussion knocked the breath out of him, James' life two years prior flashed right before his eyes…

* * *

**2 Years Ago…**

Having graduated from Annapolis at 19 in 2020, James moved to Japan to become a member of the Japanese Marine Self-Defense Force, as a result of being transferred through the U.S Navy's foreign-exchange program.

Moving up quickly to the position of chief petty officer by his 21st birthday, he became the youngest person to reach that rank. Not only did he become petty officer by then, he also got transferred to the Atago-class guided-missile destroyer JDS Ashigara, after he had been originally stationed on a minesweeper. It was around this time that James started dreaming about becoming commander of a ship, or, becoming the head-honcho of the entire fleet.

For a while, he thought everything was great, but over time, he started to get bored of his rank. He hoped that some sort of lucky event would happen to him. He didn't know that it would happen soon enough. One day, having finished his morning duties, James was heading back to his bunk aboard the destroyer, rambling to himself about how he wanted to become admiral.

As he was turning around a corner near the mess hall, he walked in on a conversation between Jun'ichi Saoru, second-in-command of the ship and his best friend, and someone who looked like a technician.

"Well look who it is," he said as James happened on them. "If it aint Deadeye himself! What's up?" James gave his superior a fist-bump. "Good, Saoru, I'm fine. Who is this girl you're talking too?" he asked.

From what Jun'ichi told him, the technician was his cousin, Sakura Eiro, who was working for a classified program that recreates World War Two-era warships and turns them into human-like girls.

James knew that this sounded all too familiar, as he recalled a certain browser game called _"Kantai Collection"_, something he played a lot years ago, and yet, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Is...Is that true? I thought that was just a web browser game." he asked, shocked. Junichi smirked, "Yep. And Eiro-chan here also told me that the JMSDF is looking for someone who knows a lot about those ships to become the admiral for the new fleet. Who knows, you might end up being that person!"

Just as Junichi finished his sentence, the speakers came on. "_Attention, attention. Petty officer Kouichi, report to the helicopter pad immediately! I repeat, petty officer Kouichi, report to the helicopter pad immediately!"_ "Well, I spoke too soon. See ya later, 'Tosh'!" Saoru joked as James walked towards the helicopter pad, trying not to drop the F-bomb out loud.

* * *

As he walked towards the rear of the ship, James kept thinking to himself. "Jesus! How could that damn game be real? Were those rumors really true?"

He thought it was a game, but by 2023, the situation outside his little world _was_ real...

Five weeks ago, rumors that mysterious beings started to appear from under the ocean's surface were confirmed when one group of them sunk a cruise ship off the coast of Kyoto, killing all passengers and crew.

An observing fighter pilot on patrol watched in horror as several of the unidentified creatures obliterated any survivors left in the water struggling for help.

In response, the JMSDF decided to start development on a new project: **PROJECT KIDO BUTAI**; an initiative where special navy maritime archaeologists would search for all wrecks of the Japanese warships sunk in World War Two. From there, a small, single piece of metal from the wrecks will be used in a process to convert them into "ship girls."

After arriving, James observed and stood back as a Sikorsky SH-60 approached the landing pad. What stuck out the most to him was that unlike the other SH-60s, this one was given special markings; this indicated that this chopper belonged to one of the highest naval officials, and as he stepped out, James recognized who he was.

Known by various sailors and other officers as the "Ace-of-Spades", Vice-Admiral Keijisu Takeyobe greeted the other crewmen aboard ship as he walked up to the young man.

"So you're officer Kouichi?" he asked.

"Uh…uh…y...yes sir!" James replied, nervously, his hands shaking. Takeyobe knelt down at his height, as he stood at an impressive 6'9.

"Son", he began, "Admiral Hobe wanted me to inform you of something very important."

James paused. "Important?" he asked.

"Yes, important. We need to discuss this on the Izumo", Keijisu explained.

James paused; he couldn't believe that the second-in-command of the Japanese Marine Self-Defense Force himself was asking him to discuss an important matter on board the admiral's flagship. He didn't know it, but the information "Deadeye" was about to receive would turn his world completely around.

* * *

**And there you have it. My first chapter of "The Sabo Island Disaster". And for curiosity, I saved you time on researching the disaster in TX City:**

**It was an industrial accident that occurred April 16, 1947, in the Port of Texas City, Texas, which still stands as the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history.**

**It started when a fire broke out aboard a French freighter named the _S.S Grandcamp_. Despite the efforts of numerous firefighters, the flames couldn't be stopped and at 9:12 a.m., the ammonium nitrate (fertilizer) reached an explosive threshold and the vessel then detonated.**

**The tremendous blast sent a 15-foot wave that was detectable nearly 100 miles off the Texas shoreline. The blast leveled nearly 1,000 buildings on land. The explosion resulted in ignition of refineries and chemical tanks on the waterfront.**

**And it got worse...**

**The first explosion ignited ammonium nitrate in the nearby cargo ship _S.S High Flyer_. The crews spent hours attempting to cut the High Flyer free from its anchor and other obstacles, but without success.**

**15 hours after the explosions aboard the _Grandcamp, _the_ High Flyer_ blew up demolishing a nearby third freighter, killing at least two more people and increasing the damage to the port and other ships with more shrapnel and fire. One of the propellers on the _High Flyer_ was blown off, and found almost a mile inland.**

**The cause of the initial fire on board the Grandcamp was never determined, but it may have been started by a cigarette discarded the previous day, meaning the ship's cargo had been smouldering throughout the night when it was discovered on the morning of the day of the explosion.**

**In total, a record 567 people were killed, including all crewmen who remained on board th****e _Grandcamp_, and all but one member of the 29-man Texas City volunteer fire department who were fighting the shipboard fire.**

**Of the dead, 405 were identified and 63 have never been identified.**

**An additional 113 people were classified as missing, for no identifiable parts were ever found.**

**There is some speculation that there may have been hundreds more killed but uncounted, including visiting seamen, non-census laborers and their families, and an untold number of travelers. However, there were some survivors as close as 70 feet from the dock. **

**More than 5,000 people were injured, with 1,784 admitted to twenty-one area hospitals.**

**More than 500 homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged, leaving 2,000 homeless.**

**The seaport was destroyed and many businesses were flattened or burned.**

**Over 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 railroad cars were obliterated—the property damage was estimated at $100 million ($1.06 billion in** **today's terms).**

**Hope ya'll learned something. ;)**

* * *

**Remember, I am new to this, so tell me what you think. Be ready for Chapter 2.**


	2. Briefing

**And I'm back with number two:**

**Chapter ****2****:**_**_ Briefing_**_

* * *

\- 5 minutes after arriving on the Ashigara, the SH-60 carrying vice-admiral Keijisu Takeyobe and petty officer James Kouichi finally took off, taking 10 minutes to get to the aircraft carrier JS Izumo, the current flagship of the fleet.

As they approached the ship, James looked through the door window at the massive ship, still thinking about what Junichi had said a mere 30 minutes earlier. Keijisu put his hand on his shoulder, surprising the young officer.

"First time on a carrier?" he asked. James paused and turned to face his superior. "Yes sir. I've actually never known what it's like to step foot on a destroyer that looks like a carrier," James replied, nervously.

The vice-admiral smiled. "Well, just imagine being on the Ashigara, except a lot bigger."

As the helicopter landed, James was amazed at the size of the massive ship.

At 814 feet long, the Izumo was amazing to him. Originally listed as a helicopter-destroyer, the JMSDF had upgraded both the Izumo (AC-183) and her sister, the Kaga (AC-184), as aircraft carriers by 2018.

At the time, the navy was in the middle of completing a feasibility study into adding two more ships as a sub-class; the JS Satsuma (AC-185) and her sister, Katsuragi (AC-186).

Seeing imported F-35 Lightnings and V-22 Ospreys up close for the first time on deck, James felt kind-of sad for the fighters. He had heard rumors that a new fighter, the Lockheed-Martin F-45, known as the 'Thunderwing', was currently being given a trial run on the Mizuho. If successful, they would begin to start degrading the F-35's to secondary roles.

After stepping out of the chopper, both men were greeted by the ship's captain, 43 year-old commander Tade Miroki, a veteran in the Navy, who was chosen as the Izumo's first captain, right after she was commissioned in 2015.

He saluted both men, shouting "Welcome back, vice-admiral Takeyobe!"

Both men replied with the same salute. "Thank you, captain Miroki," the vice-admiral said, kindly.

"Oh, yes, I forgot! Admiral Hobe requested you, petty officer…..uh, what's your name?" the captain asked, forgetting the young man's name.

James stood there, unamused. "It's James Kouichi, sir. But I go by the nickname 'Deadeye'."

Both Takeyobe and Mirochi looked at him, then back at each other, both puzzled. The vice-admiral then spoke up.

"'Deadeye', why do you go by that nickname?" he asked. James smirked. "It was given to me by several of my fellow crewmembers aboard the Ashigara, sir," he began.

"I'm known for being a crack-shot with a rifle; we had a shooting competition a few months back, and I managed to hit every single target, outscoring everyone by surprise. It was then that one sailor said 'Wow! Officer Kouichi is one hell of a crack shot. It's as if he has a dead-eye when it comes to using a rifle.'"

The captain smiled. "Interesting. Anyway, admiral Hobe is waiting for you on the bridge. Please, follow me….," he said as the trio headed for the entrance of the ship's superstructure.

As the men walked, James realized that this would be the first time he'd ever get to meet the Admiral.

* * *

**Present day…**

Slowly, but surely, James finally managed to open his eyes, out of breath, and wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Ah...Owww! I feel like I got hit by a damn bus!"

He had come to rest, laying face-down against the crumpled, dented right side of a wrecked boxcar. After rolling himself over, he looked down at himself, realizing that his uniform had been shredded, soaked with dirt, grease and, blood.

One minute, he had been trying to open up the gate leading to his base as fast as he could, the next, he was waking up on top of an overturned freight car, its wheel assemblies resting sideways at a 45-degree angle, the wheels scattered on the tracks at various directions. He also noticed that the sky was half blue, half grey and black.

"FUCK!", he yelled as he rolled off of the railcar, hitting the ground with a loud thud. "MY RIBS!" He realized that part of his ribcage was broken.

James didn't realize it, but he also had his nose broken, a dislocated left hand, two missing front teeth, a shattered bone in his left leg, a small gash in his right hip, and numerous cuts and bruises all over him, blood caked on several cuts.

As he managed to stand up, he started to yell "INAZUMAAA!" He turned towards the direction of the yard, when he heard someone crying.

"Kouichi-san…" was all the little destroyer could say, tears pouring down her cheeks as she turned her head towards him.

He noticed right away that she was missing several fingers from her left hand, possibly sliced off by parts of the gate, blood slowly dripping out of where they had been connected to.

He also noticed that her hairband was gone, leaving her hair down, caked with tiny bits of gravel and dirt, wet with a little bit of blood.

Her uniform and blouse were torn, exposing her belly, the upper part of her panties and part of her right breast, which had a pretty nasty bruise on it. Like him, she had several cuts and bruises all over her body.

James noticed a trail of blood leading right in front of her. He managed to limp over to the destroyer, trying to see why she was crying. As he looked down in front of her from behind, his weary eyes widened in horror.

"OH...CHRIST...ALMIGHTY..." was all he could say, pulling little Inazuma away, burying her face in his chest with a hug to keep her from still seeing what had made her cry.

* * *

**2 Years Ago…**

Vice-admiral Takeyobe and James both entered the bridge of the Izumo. Despite being a grown man, James couldn't help but have a 5 year-old moment, by walking to the main control panel, saying "OOOOHHHH! I wonder what this does," pressing a button, which blew the ship's horn.

'HHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH' blared out throughout the entire bay, scaring the shit of a few men on the filght deck.

Muttering "Heh-Heh! Idiots didn't know what was coming!" with some sort of a troll-face, he turned around.

His face immediately went completely blank, for standing right in front of him was none other than the head honcho himself: 49 year-old head admiral Kaijiro "Kingpin" Hobe, a 35-year member of the Japanese Marine Self-Defense Force.

"Really? I'd thought you would've been more mature than that..." was all he could say, with a disappointed look on his face.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself!"

"Right..."

* * *

"So, officer Kouichi, you do realize that what I'm about to tell you may interest you really, really much?" he asked. Both men were in the admiral's private office, with the vice-admiral and two guards at the door.

James stood there, puzzled. "No, sir, I don't" he replied, worried about what admiral Hobe would say next.

"Well, then let me explain: a few weeks ago, mysterious creatures started appearing from the bottom of the ocean, and they have been attacking any ship that ventures out to sea. It seems as if they want to cut off mainland Japan from the rest of the world, a blockade of sorts. That is why we had prepared right after 9/11, and with cooperation from the U.S, we have developed an amazing operation. Under the codename 'EXPLORER', we managed to locate the wrecks of all WW2-era Imperial warships; even the ones deep off Midway, and by the grace-of-God, we somehow managed to get into the damned Philippine Trench."

"The Philippine Trench, sir?" James curiously asked. "Yep, the third-deepest underwater trench in the world. The deepest point is 34,580 feet," the admiral said. "Three heavy cruisers were sunk in that trench, and we had a helluva time trying to get the damn ROV's down there. Only one of the three made it and it recovered a shard from all three wrecks. Not to mention we lost a shit-ton of valuable equipment with the other two."

After taking in the interesting facts, James asked Hobe: "Sir, so after ya'll recovered the shards, what did you do with them?"

Hobe paused. He then reached into the drawer behind his desk, pulling out a thick folder with a lot of classified documents. As he spread out several diagrams and pictures, he continued.

"So this is what we done," he began. "We took each shard of rusted metal, and fused it with a new medical process called 'Proto-Forming', which basically creates a human body using chemical compounds, mixed with several samples of human tissue. Now since each ship during the war was known as a girl to their respective crews, we decided that each new ship would take the form of a human female."

James was puzzled. "Um...why females?"

"Hell if I know, maybe the fuckin' devs that created them were perverted, I guess?"

"Wow... should I be impressed?"

"Yes, sir. We built these 'ship-girls' to combat the unidentified lifeforms. They are to be put under command under someone who's young, compassionate, and well-respected, but has a dumb side to him/her," the admiral replied.

James started to shake, sweating furiously. "So, what does this mean, admiral Hobe?" he nervously asked.

"This means that you've been selected as the admiral of Special Fleet Number One. Congratulations, Mr. Kouichi. Pack up your belongings from the Ashigara and prepare to report to Sabo Island by 13:00 hours. Understand?"

"YES SIR!" James yelled as he saluted his superior. "Oh, and out of curiousity, with the Abyssals out-and-about, how are ya'll able to reach the wreck sites without being attacked?"

"You don't want to know..." Hobe replied. "Dismissed" was all the admiral finished saying as he left his office. As James got to the flight deck, all the other crewmen on the carrier's deck could see was a young man shouting and cheering excitedly like never before.

* * *

**And here it is: Chapter 2: Briefing. No reviews yet, but I've gotten 1 favorite the following day. I was actually happy with myself that something I managed to type in one night turned out to be pretty good for a beginner. Be on the lookout for Chapter 3: First Day.**


	3. First Day

**-I just wanted to say that the very first part of this chapter might be a little too gory, so be warned. And please, try not to picture this in your heads. Also, this chapter will be a little longer than the previous two. Enjoy. **

_**Chapter 3: First Day**_

* * *

**Present Day…**

-As Admiral James Kouichi held a crying, injured Inazuma, he tried his best not to vomit. Weak at his stomach, he couldn't believe what laid right in front of him. Right there was her older sister Akatsuki, lying dead on the ground.

From what he saw, the destroyer had multiple incisions all over her body, her stomach was sliced completely open, guts spilled out beside the corpse. Half of her left arm was gone. Her right leg up to the knee was severed, hanging only by tissue.

What had been her skirt was now shredded, her exposed panties peppered with multiple holes, revealing several splinters and metal fragments embedded in her upper thighs. The destroyer's uniform was tattered. Her entire left breast was hanging by tissue, blood soaking the white fabric.

But the most disturbing thing about seeing the corpse was that Akatsuki's head was lying 3 feet away, severed from the main body.

James noticed a steel panel to his right. Probably part of the small guard's shack that had been right behind the brick wall, it had come to rest embedded in the dirt, with one side caked in thick blood. The force of explosion had probably sent the panel flying like a shuriken star, slicing her head clean off before she had any time to react.

The head's facial expression showed an emotionless gasp, the mouth oozing a small pool of warm blood, eyes wide open. Her long, dark purple hair, was caked with blood, dirt, and tiny bits of debris. Nearby, her torn and jagged hat had the III missing one bar, covered in dirt.

James felt terribly sorry for the little destroyer, so he kissed little Inazuma on her forehead, saying, "I'm….Sorry."

Even the 24 year-old was trying not to cry, but being a caring, compassionate person for anybody, he shed a single tear, stroking her hair while still holding her in his arms as she bawled against his chest, wishing that the sight of her decapitated onee-san wouldn't haunt her for life.

However, as he ran his hand through Inazuma's long, brown hair, he couldn't help but look around them. As he looked up, his expression became even more horrified, for what laid around him looked like a scene from the movie "Full Metal Jacket":

What had been the entire outer perimeter of the facility only an hour earlier, now looked like a warzone. The steel gate was in pieces. Metal bars from it were scattered all around the pathway leading to the rail yard's now shattered platform, several rods embedded in the dirt.

The rail yard was worse. Flat cars of building supplies and steel beams, boxcars, and the bauxite-topped hoppers were all either on their sides or in the shallow waters and beach, wrecked in various states.

Bauxite could be seen scattered all over the ruined tracks. What was left of the small station was now a bare concrete platform.

Truck assemblies and their wheelsets were scattered among twisted rails and broken ties.

Several tank cars looked as if they had imploded on theirselves, crushed from the shockwave, the full ones were torn open and on fire.

The 10-foot high brick wall had collapsed flat on the ground, chunks of brick and mortar littering the area next to both James and Inazuma.

But beyond flattened walls was something so horrific, that it reminded him of a scene from Hell itself… utter destruction.

* * *

**Two years earlier…**

James was back on board the _Ashigara_. As instructed by Admiral Hobe, he started packing all of his belongings from his bunk and locker: clothes, medicine, his marksman rifle, toothbrush and other hygiene-related stuff.

But most importantly to him, was his Bible and a golden necklace, with a cross pennant. Given to him by his mother at his high-school graduation family party, she told him that "If you ever need God to be with you, make sure to carry this with you always."

After finishing packing everything, he said goodbye to everyone on board. However, both he and second officer Jun'ichi Saoru hugged each other, for both men had grown up in the US, enlisted in Annapolis together, and knew that they probably wouldn't see each other again for a while.

"Well, 'Tosh', you've been my best friend since that very first day in kindergarten. We've been through a lot of tough shit, from having each other's backs to going through rough times in school. I can't believe that fucking game you used to play so damn much during recreation time is real, now. Guess you're happy, huh?" was all Junichi said. "Take care, pal!" Murmuring to himself, he said "You too, buttnutt."

"_Of all the people, that prick had to be the one to say goodbye!? Thank God I can finally do what I've always dreamed of!" _he thought to himself, in a pissed mood.

Arriving at the ship's fantail, the helicopter was waiting, with it's crew. "Officer Kouichi, good luck to you sir!" the ship's captain yelled as the rotors of the Huey started spinning.

35 minutes after leaving the ship, James was on land. Arriving at Yoshiura station, a few miles outside the main station at Kure, he noticed a man holding a sign that read "James Kouichi" in big, black letters.

Right behind him was a bright, white modified Japanese Railways KiHa 54-0, with the symbols for 'Sabo Island Branch-Line Only'.

James walked over to the man, asking "Is this the connection to Sabo Island? I'm Mr. Koichi by the way." The man replied. "Oh, yes, yes. Right this way, please, please!"

Getting on the KiHa, James couldn't believe it: his dream was really happening.

As the diesel railcar left Yoshiura station, it passed over a set of points heading to the Sabo branch-line:

Heading towards the direction of Karugahama station, it rounded a curve, passing through a small fishing district, before beginning the journey over the 200 foot long truss bridge, including a drawbridge section, to allow passing ships and small craft. After passing over the bridge, the car's steel wheels screeched as it rounded another curve. Finally, ahead of the car was the points leading to the 500 foot-long yard, the car stopping along a 100 foot long platform with a small hut, made of tan-painted wood and metal, with glass windows. The station sign next to it read: "Sabo Island Naval Base."

As James exited the railcar, he noticed that, surprisingly, a little girl was waiting on the platform, sitting on a bench. "No. Fucking. Way" was all he murmured to himself as he somehow immediately recognized her from the browser game.

**Fourth Akatsuki-class/Twenty-fourth Fubuki-class Destroyer Inazuma (Lightning):** Average height of a middle-schooler, long, brown hair folded into a braid with a red hairband. She wore the ususal white schoolgirl's sailor uniform, with the number 3 in Roman numerals pinned on, a blue skirt, long black leggings and a pair of blue slip-on shoes.

Right next to her was a large-sized suitcase. On top of it was what looked like a penguin plushie and next to it was something odd; a large, metallic backpack, with the shape of a thin smokestack, with what looked like two gun turrets, one on each side. Next to it was two four-tubed torpedo mounts, both neatly stacked on top of each other.

"Hello," James began. "I'm guessing you're Inazuma, right?"

The destroyer was surprised. "Hawawa…you scared me!" she pouted. "Um, yes, I'm Inazuma, nice to meet you, nanodesu."

After finishing her introduction, the horn of an ex-JNR Class DE10 diesel-hydraulic locomotive blared as it came into view.

James noticed that the red and grey engine was pulling seven railway cars: two flatcars with lumber, bags of mortar and pallets of red bricks, two boxcars loaded with paint, carpentry, nails, and other construction material, a longer boxcar which, from James's guess, contained furniture, sheets, clothing, bathing materials, and other interior furnishings and another flatcar carrying three different loads; a small tank canister of fuel, a small hopper of bauxite and a stack of steel, tightened down with metal chains.

At the rear was a four-wheeled passenger carriage, carrying what looked like miniature construction workers. "Great, the first fairies I see are friggin laborers!" James exclaimed.

After stopping on the second yard track, the conductor got out of the cab and walked over to James. "You're commander Kouichi, correct?" he asked, handing James a clipboard of the list of supplies sent to the base. "Uhhh..Yeah. That's correct," he replied, dumbfounded.

"Well, Admiral Hobe requested to have these materials shipped here, so I'll need you to sign here on this clipboard, please."

_***Scribble scribble scribble***_

"Well...okay then. Thanks!" the conductor said. After hopping back into the locomotive's cab, he had the engineer sort the cars out on the yard tracks, before highballing back towards the mainline.

And so, both James and Inazuma walked around of the temporary premises of the base

brand new office and admiral's quarters: Measuring 30 feet long, 50 feet wide, and two floors tall, it was an impressive brick structure, complete with windows and beige-colored roof shingles.

A sign above the main entrance read 'Main Office' in big letters. All around the area, the 'fairies' were hard at work, erecting the wooden frames of the other various structures of the base, as the sound of handsaws buzzed away.

Walking down the hallway, James saw a door with a nameplate that read 'Admiral's Office'. Before opening the door, he looked back, seeing little Inazuma struggling with her belongings and equipment. He went over and grabbed her suitcase, and she thanked him, for she was almost out of breath trying to catch up with him.

Entering the office, he suddenly became unamused. The office had several crates marked 'office furniture', a half-assembled desk, and plain-white walls, being almost empty. "Well, that's just fucking great!" he said angrily. "Looks like I have to do this shi…"

He stopped before he could finish his sentence, as the little destroyer was tugging on his shirt, almost in tears. "Please…please stop! Don't be so mad, nanodesu! I'll help you."

James smiled, patting her on the head. "Thanks." Inazuma blushed, and soon, both human and destroyer began setting up the office.

* * *

**9:00 P.M that night…**

Later that night, James was in his new bedroom, about to turn to go to sleep. An hour earlier, it had begun to storm outside, lightning flashing and thunder booming outside. Looking up at the ceiling, he kept wondering why Admiral Hobe had chosen him. "Why me?" he thought. "It's not like he read my mind or anything."

As he was just about to shut his eyes, he heard a voice. "Kouichi-san?" He looked over, seeing little Inazuma standing by the bed. She was in her pajamas, hair down, and holding on to the penguin plushie she brought with her.

"Inazuma, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

The little destroyer was blushing, sniffling.

"I'm scared of the storm outside. Can…can I sleep with you?" she asked, innocently.

Knowing he didn't want to hurt her feelings, James sighed with a smile, saying "Sure, come on" as he lifted the covers. Inazuma hopped in the bed, cuddled with her back against him. Just as James pulled the sheets down, she grabbed his arm, putting it over her.

She looked up. "Thank you, Kouichi-san. You're so sweet, nanodesu."

James couldn't help but deliver a smile, for he knew that his lifelong dream was actually coming true.

* * *

**And, surprise, there's chapter 3! **

**See you when Chapter 4: New Arrivals comes. Thanks!**


	4. New Arrivals

**No ideas from anyone, please, anybody? Oh well, probably later on then, okay? So this is where several new faces are introduced. Also, more gore. And don't worry, there will be a way to revive them. Enjoy chapter 4. **

**Chapter 4: New Arrivals:**

* * *

**June 22, 2023. 6:30 A.M:**

Having just woken up, James Koichi had been in the middle of a dream; he had an entire group of ship girls with him on the beach, all relaxing.

The destroyers were either splashing around in the water or building sandcastles, the light and heavy cruisers were playing volleyball (Kitakami tried playing, but Ooi dragged her away due to jealousy) and the carriers and battleships were relaxing in the sun, while Kongou and Nagato tried to hold down Akagi from eating everyone's lunch.

James was on an inflatable pool recliner in the shallow bay water, sipping on a glass of lemonade and wearing a shade hat, his iPhone playing Loverboy's "Working for the Weekend" on a mountable speaker.

As he tried to get up, he realized that Inazuma was still asleep. The little destroyer had been frightened by the raging storm the previous night and had kindly asked to sleep with him, which he agreed to.

"Huh…just like sis" he whispered with a small smile.

Gently raising her arm while sliding over slowly, he inched his ass out of bed without waking her up. Stretching, he walked over to the door of the balcony, which gave him a view of the entire facility.

Surprisingly, instead of an empty lot, before him were a few completed buildings all around him; a dorm house, several warehouses and a recreation area, located in front of the main office.

Close by the main office was what looked like a repair shop; the only thing that he thought was funny as hell was that the sign was made from an old, rotted piece of wood, white letters crudely spelling "Akashi's Improvement Arsenal". Nearby was what looked like a communications station.

As he looked around, James also noticed a very major change at the rail yard; where the buffers had been at the end of each yard track, all now lead directly into what looked like a locomotive depot; complete with repair shops, paint shop, a locomotive 'car-wash', and a building next to it that had a sign that read 'Port Sabo Island Railway Main Office' over the main entrance.

What caught his eye was the impressive lineup of equipment in the shed near the shop:

the same JNR Class DE10 the day before; instead of red and grey, it was now painted white, with blue stripes (the newly-formed railway's livery),

the same single-unit KiHa 54-0 (painted in the livery),

an exported British diesel shunter (customized to fit the Japanese railway loading gauge, complete with JNR-style couplers),

a black and yellow track speeder, and several maintenance-of-way vehicles.

As he looked around at the beginnings of his new base, James felt proud that his lifelong dream was actually made possible by the JMSDF's head admiral.

Suddenly, he heard Inazuma yawn. Turning around, he saw her laying on the bed with her head turned towards him, cuddling with her plush penguin, her hair in a mess, and sleepy-eyed.

"Good morning *ahhnn* Koichi-san", she said, still yawning.

"Good morning to you too, Inazuma", James replied back.

Later that morning, after finishing his morning routine and helping Inazuma prepare breakfast, James received a phone call from the stationmaster at Yoshiura station, who told him that the KiHa would be bringing several 'Kanmusus' (as he called them) that admiral Hobe sent to the base.

After that, he and Inazuma went to the station platform to greet the new arrivals. Inazuma, with a curious look, asked him a question.

"Who do you think the new arrivals are, nanodesu?" she asked, curiously.

James replied. "Oh, I don't know, but I hope it's whoever runs the communications and the repair shop. I also hope we get a light cruiser and some destroyers, so they can keep you company." Soon, the railcar arrived, and James grinned as he saw the new arrivals, which looked to help out at base:

* * *

**Light Cruiser Ooyodo: **Almost the same height as James, also near the same age. She had on a white sailor uniform with blue neck and shoulder pads, a red tie with a red &amp; pink ribbon below it, and a blue mini-skirt, with part of her upper thighs and black panties exposed. Long dark and light grey leggings with light pink bowties. Wears glasses, and has a blue hairband in her long, black hair.

**Equipment:** James thought it looked like a giant-ass box, but it had a miniature seaplane hangar. With it was two handheld triple-mount turrets, and an attachable seaplane catapult.

**Repair Ship Akashi: ** Pretty much the same height and clothes as Ooyodo, but with grey and red armor panels on the left leg and shoulder, and a short blue skirt with a red stripe, so short that her ass almost shows. Long, pink hair, with a little bit of it tied into two broom head-shaped ponytails under her ears and a purple hair bow.

**Equipment: **Instead of any weapons or aircraft catapults, Akashi had two equipment boxes that each featured cranes, one of them including a smokestack.

**First Fubuki-Class Destroyer Fubuki (Blizzard): ** As Inazuma's oldest sister, she's taller than her. Has a blue and white short-sleeved serafuku and black hair, tied in a ponytail.

**Equiment:** Same as Inazuma, but with one handheld gun turret.

**Fourth Shiratsuyu-Class Destroyer Yuudachi (Evening Squall): **Taller than both Fubuki and Inazuma, she wears a black serafuku with white neck folds and sleeves with a red stripe on them, and a red sailor's tie. Black longsocks and brown slip-on shoes complete the outfit. She has straight long blonde hair with a hair ribbon on top and green eyes. For some reason, she reminds James of a California valley girl, due to her saying 'Poi' at the end of almost every sentence.

**Equipment: **A large smokestack, like the previous two, torpedo mounts that straps to her legs, a double and a single-mount turret for weapons.

And **Sole Shimakaze-Class Destroyer Shimakaze (Island Wind): **James nearly laughed out loud due to this destroyer's appearance: notably, she had long blonde hair and a flat chest. She wears an outfit that includes a sailor collar &amp; striped thighhighs, which literally made him think she was a slut. She also had a huge black hair bow, which looked like to be in the form of bunny ears.

**Equipment: **She is surrounded by three little familiar-like turrets that she calls each "Rensouhou-chan", and a quintuple torpedo mount on her back.

After examining his new arrivals, he welcomed them. "Greetings. I'm Admiral James Koichi, your commander. Welcome to Port Sabo Island. Your names?" he asked.

The introductions he heard were very similar to the character quotes from the game itself.

* * *

**Present Day:**

The sight beyond the ruined walls of James' base horrified him even worse than the stories of the war in Vietnam his grandfather told him shortly before he died.

As Inazuma helped him walk into the area, he couldn't believe what he saw:

Wood, brick, chunks of mortar, steel, dirt, ash, soot, trees, shredded canvas, unexploded ordinance and other materials were scattered all over the entire area, not to mention several bodies and numerous body parts. Fire raged in several places.

The main office had its left side blown open, and a massive hole was left in the roof, probably having been blown open. All windows were shattered, and the main entrance had collapsed, the lifeless corpses of destroyers Shigure and Murasame crushed under the debris.

Nearby, Michishio was slumped against the brick wall, a metal rod impaled clean through her head, blood pooring out from the puncture wound all over her white uniform.

Carriers Amagi and Katsuragi were both unconscious, laying close to a fallen tree near the ruined office.

Amagi was on her right side. Missing her left foot, her camouflage light green kimono was torn to pieces and covered in dirt and blood.

Katsuragi was cut up all over, with a nasty, bloody gash on her forehead, and torn and shredded kimono.

The recreation area looked terrible: trees were uprooted, benches wrecked, and even worse; light cruisers Sendai, Jintsuu and Naka, were dead, all in different positions.

Sendai was laying on her right side, her head crushed underneath a large chunk of concrete, the orange uniform splattered in blood.

Jintsuu was slumped against her, flesh hanging off of Jintsuu's left cheekbone, her neck sliced open, blood pooring out of her slit neck and mouth, cut all over.

Naka, her right arm barely hanging on, and a massive concrete slab crushed her abdomen, slumped over said slab, left eyeball hanging over the edge, still connected to the socket, and half of her skull caved in by a brick.

Destroyers Oboro, Akebono, Sazanami and Ushio were nearby.

Oboro's entire chest caved in by a steel beam, blood pooled up around the crushed corpse.

Akebono, cut up and uniform torn to where here breasts were exposed, was crying, holding a dead Sazanami in her arms. Ushio held Akebono around her waist, crying horribly.

Light carrier Ryuujou was apparently cut completely in half by an entire steel panel, blood and chunks of intestines covering it and scattered on the ground.

As they tried not to vomit from the horrendous smell of dead cadavers, both James and Inazuma heard a timid, yet familiar voice.

"Um... Commander?" was all they heard as both turned towards Mamiya's café.

In front of the wrecked entrance was Third Myoukou-Class Heavy Cruiser Haguro: In tears, her forehead was cut badly, blood having oozed and dried up. Her right arm had a glass shard embedded in the shoulder, blood clotted around it. Several cuts and bruises adorned her body, her clothes torn and dirty, almost similar to her damaged image from the game.

She was on kneeling down, struggling to lift the wreckage from the café's entrance, as there were injured girls inside. Despite his injuries, James immediately rushed over to help her out, surprising Inazuma.

"Hawawa…" was all she could muster out as she too rushed over to help free whoever was trapped inside.

"Haguro-san, are you alright?" he asked. "Yes Koichi-san, but I need help. Several girls are trapped in here!" she said, in tears.

"Okay, both of you. On the count of three, we pull, ready? 1..2..3!"

All three lifted the heavy debris, clearing the entrance. Then, Haguro and Inazuma both rushed inside, hoping to see who were all in the café.

* * *

**June 22, 2023. 7:00 P.M:**

Dinnertime, for the new arrivals, that is. Despite not being that great of a chef, James decided that he'd cook something special to him for the girls; Jambalaya.

Given the recipe by his cousin in New Orleans, he and the girls went shopping in Kure's markets and came back with:

4 pounds of mild smoked pork sausage,

5 pounds of chicken,

onions,

garlic,

cubed tasso,

fresh thyme leaves,

fresh sweet basil leaves,

ground black pepper,

white pepper,

red pepper flakes,

a gallon of chicken stock,

2 ½ pounds of long-grain rice,

and some curly parsley leaves, of which, much had to be sent to the base by James' request to JMSDF headquarters.

After an hour and 35 minutes, the massive pot of Cajun goodness was carried in by several of the guys from the locomotive shed, who decided to join since the pot was big enough to feed everyone. After everyone got a bowl and their share of food, James waited to see what everyone would say after the first bite.

After a minute of chewing, everyone's eyes lit up.

"This is amazing, Commander! How did you learn to cook?" Fubuki asked. "Well, I…" As he started, he kept getting interrupted with more positive feedback.

After all the positive comments, James began to talk. "Wow, I'm touched" he began.

"Ya'll don't even know how much all of that meant to me. You see, this isn't my recipe. My cousin, Louie 'Simmons' Anojiru, is a top chef from New Orleans, Louisiana, in the U.S. of course. He can make one hell of a Jambalaya, a popular Cajun recipe, and that's why the mayor herself made him cook of the year. I called him to ask about the recipe, because I wanted to try it here. I'm glad you all helped me with it and I thank everyone!"

Later that night, around 9:00, James was in the bathroom, getting ready for the second night on base.

Still thinking about how everyone loved the night's dinner, he was brushing his teeth, when he thought to himself.

"Damn. I can't believe I'm saying this to myself, but I'm actually talking to humanized WW2-era warships!" He was still excited in his mind. The thought of being in command of the IJN's famed warships, in humanoid form, had indeed come true for him.

As he went to bed, he realized something. "Shit." He muttered out as he remembered that the carpentry fairies were still working on furnishing the dorms.

"Well, I guess the girls will have to sleep with me tonight."

* * *

**11:00 P.M. James' Bedroom:**

Inazuma, Fubuki, Yuudachi, Shimakaze, the Rensouhou's, Akashi and Ooyodo were all asleep in James' room. Except him.

James himself was awake in bed, with Inazuma and Fubuki cuddled against him, one on each side. Staring at the wall, he was still thinking about why Admiral Hobe had chosen him. Of all the young men in the entire JMSDF, it had to be the WW2 and Railway expert.

As a kid, James had been fascinated by trains, for he had grown up near the tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (**BNSF**)'s Cajon Subdivision. Now that he had his own private railway serving his naval base, he thought life couldn't be sweeter.

And yet, he thought, "_Why? Of all the young men in the navy, why me?"_

Knowing that he had to get up at 6 o'clock, he finally managed to shut his eyes, despite the loud snoring from Shimakaze, and the constant 'Poi's from Yuudachi.

* * *

**And that's Chapter 4. I saw a recent review, and actually felt bad. I didn't mean to make anyone sad, so I decided that later on in a future chapter, I will feature an interesting way how the dead girls will be brought back. See you guys at Chapter 5. Can't think of a good title for it, so give me a good name. If I like it, I'll be sure to give credit to whoever came up with it. Cheers!**

**P.S: The Jambalaya recipe in this chapter is really good :) Try it! **

**A-ron**


	5. Familiarization Part I

**Hey everyone, it's been a while! ****hfdt123's ****chapter title seemed pretty good, so credit goes to you. Now, 1/3 of this chapter is present-day, picking back up at the café, the rest being in June, 2023 (2 years ago). This is also a two-three parter as well. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Familiarization Part I:**_

* * *

**Present-Day, August 25****th****, 2025:**

An injured Admiral James Kouichi walked into the still-standing café and inspected the damage; chairs were scattered around the interior, tables were covered in dust and smaller bits of debris, and part of the ceiling had collapsed, the wooden support beams holding it sheared in half, as if a giant hand chopped it in half.

The front of the building on both sides of the entrance was forced inwards by the shockwave, shortening the structure's length (front-to back) by 5 feet. The metal plates, covered over with canvas, was peppered with several holes at the front. "Jesus" was all James could mutter out.

He then looked around to see who was inside, whether they were injured, dead or dying:

Twenty girls were in various spots in the cafe; Kagerou and Shiranui were in tears, holding a dying Kuroshio in their arms; part of a wooden crossbeam impaled through her chest, while Hatsuharu and Wakaba were tending to Nenohi and Hatsushimo, the latter was missing a leg.

Nagara and Yura, with help from Naganami, were trying to keep poor Mamiya from losing consciousness, due to blood loss.

Maya and a sober Jun'you were assisting a slightly-injured Chiyoda, who was treating sister Chitose's almost-severed left leg, shrapnel wounds and numerous cuts, and a crying Kitakami and Kuma were comforting each other, with dead siblings Tama, Ooi and Kiso placed side-by-side, holding hands, bodies completely cut, bruised and punctured all over; Tama with a slit throat, a massive hole in Ooi's chest, and a puncture wound in Kiso's head.

"Great," he begun to think to himself. "Now Kitakami will be free to do anything without Ooi bugging the living fuck out of her every day."

Going to sit on the front step, he stared at the ground for three minutes, almost shaking, trying to hold back his tears. "Huh…now I know how ol' gramps felt."

He couldn't believe it: For the first time in his life, he was experiencing almost exactly what his grandfather had experienced in Vietnam.

As he stepped back inside, he noticed Chiyoda wrapping her uniform shirt around Chitose's massive leg wound, while wearing nothing but her bra and the rest of her uniform. She was the first to notice him. "Ccc..ccc…Commander!"Chiyoda exclaimed, blushing.

Naganami ran up and hugged him, crying and bleeding on her arm. Despite his injuries, James knelt down and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying his best to comfort her. "Hey, hey, sssshhh. It's okay," he said with a calming voice.

After minutes of hugging, Chiyoda was the first to speak up. "James, what the hell happened? Please don't tell us that the Abyssals attacked!" she howled at him.

"Wait, what the fuck?" he began. "First off, Chiyoda, the goddamn Abyssals did not attack the base! And second, don't EVER yell at me like that! Sheesh, it seems as if you think this was my fucking fault!"

As he finished, Chiyoda burst into tears, bear-hugging him. Her massive breasts pressed against him as he put his arms around her. All he said was "I'm..sorry" as he laid her head on his shoulder.

James began again after a few minutes of comforting the emotionally-hurt light carrier. "Listen. I really don't know what happened, so I intend to find out, but I'm really glad most of ya'll are okay." After hugging her, he looked over at Kagerou, Shiranui, Kuma and Kitakami, went over to them and comforted them as much as he could.

Next, he went to help both Maya and Jun'you with trying to keep Mamiya from losing consciousness. Despite his efforts, she died from blood loss a few minutes later.

To him, losing a loving person that treated the girls like family was terrible. He then grabbed a nearby tablecloth and placed it over her body, to prevent any further discomfort.

James checked on both Hatsuharu and Wakaba next, to see if they needed any help with Nenohi and Hatsushimo. With Wakaba's assistance, he managed to stop Hatsushimo's right leg stump from bleeding anymore.

As he got up to go cover a now-dead Kuroshio's body, he happened to take a quick glance out the now-cleared entrance. His face produced a horrified look.

About 10 feet from the entrance was an intact battleship shell, looking as if was about to explode.

"**OH FUUCK! EVERYONE DOWN!"** was all he yelled, tackling a surprised Naganami. A second later the shell exploded.

"_**BOOM!"**_

Shrapnel and dirt flew everywhere, as the shockwave further damaged the café's already ruined entrance. Roof tiling fell off and landed on the dirt with a thud, as the weakened structure tilted forwards further.

As the smoke cleared, James looked around to see if everyone was okay. "Dammit!" he yelled. "I fucking forgot that there's still live ordinance scattered around!"

The only person hurt was Kitakami; she had a metal fragment embedded in her right knee. He went over to Kitakami, and put her right arm on his shoulder. "Let's go!" he yelled.

As soon as things were clear, James and the surviving girls left the ruined café. He and Kuma together helped Kitakami out, carrying her by their shoulders, Haguro carrying a one-legged Hatsushimo, her sisters close behind, Inazuma and Naganami holding Kagerou's and Shiranui's hands, and Nagara, Yura, Maya and Jun'you helping Chiyoda with Chitose.

As they passed by the bodies of the Sendai-class sisters, the café girls were horrified by the intense level of gore before their eyes. Nagara cried out. "Sss..sss…Sendai-chan!"

Along the way, destroyers Urakaze and Hamakaze, along with injured sisters Isokaze and Tanikaze were found and rescued from what was one of the numerous destroyer dorms:

Urakaze was missing her right hand, and several gashes protruded from her hip. Isokaze had half of her long hair singed off by fire, and had burn marks wrapped up with her ripped uniform. Hamakaze was cut to where her uniform shirt was gone, leaving only her bra to cover up her mountainous assets. Tanikaze, however, got the worst of the four; a missing right eye, severed left arm, a small spot on her forehead skinned and burnt, broken teeth, and a deep gash in her right calf.

A few minutes later, James found the least-damaged building in the facility; the battleship's dormitory. Hopefully, by the grace-of-god, at least some of his battleships would still be alive…

* * *

**June 24****th****, 2023. 7:00 A.M:**

"Come on….come on….stop….STOP! Aw, Fuuckk!" James yelled. "DAMMIT!"

He was playing a session on Train Simulator 2022, and had just crashed his train into another by accident.

James had decided that this morning would be different: Two sessions on TS2022 after getting outta bed, go on the site and download new content.

As the next session loaded, he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Fubuki; hair down and messy, white tank-top and sweatpants for pajamas.

"Morning, commander. What are you playing?" she asked. The destroyer had never seen a simulation game before.

"Oh, mornin', Fubuki. It's Train Simulator 2022." he replied.

"Train…Simulator…2022?" she asked, puzzled.

"Here, I'll show you. Sit by me and watch and learn.

For the next 20-30 minutes, James showed Fubuki how awesome the game was, from controlling the trains to creating routes and other content.

Soon, she got the hang of it after he let her try driving a BNSF SD70Ace on the Stevens Pass route.

Several minutes later, a curious Shimakaze, wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, pants, and a nightcap, grabbed a nearby chair and decided to watch; her little Rensouhou's, wearing little nightcaps themselves, watched too.

Two minutes passed before James finally noticed. "Crap! Jeez, don't scare me like that again," he said, spooked. The only response he got from her was "Ou!"

Yuudachi yawned. "Ahhn….ppppooooiiii!" as she stretched her arms, sitting upright on the bed.

James replied to the little blonde with a "good mornin'," just as Akashi, Ooyodo and Inazuma all woke up at the same time.

"Ah…what's that rumbling noise, nanodesu?" Inazuma asked, glancing over at the small crowd gathered at James' computer.

"Oh, morning Inazuma," he began. "Fubuki-chan here wanted to try this train game I've been playing for two hours. I woke her up by accident."

The little brown-head huddled on over. "Train-game?" she asked, getting out of bed. "Yep. A game where you get to drive trains and stuff," he replied.

"Oh, I see, nanodesu," she replied back, walking over towards the computer. As soon as she said that, Akashi, Ooyodo and Yuudachi all followed Inazuma and all watched as James showed them the basics of a train simulator.

After 30 minutes of letting each of the girls have their turn playing with trains on his computer, James decided it was time for breakfast.

Arriving in the kitchen, he couldn't find anything that sounded good to him. Instead, he decided that he and the girls would head out to Kure and get some food and shop for ingredients there.

40 minutes later, after arriving at Kure, they headed to the many markets near the station. For 10 minutes at three stores, the group managed to buy nearly $150 worth of food including rice, eggs, fish, sushi wraps, chicken, vegetables, beef, noodles, curry mix, potatoes, milk, pork, and, surprisingly, cereal.

"Alright, alright! Come on girls, we're going to take this stuff back to base and come back for some clothes shopping and fun, okay?" James asked. All of the girls chanted with a big 'YAY!" except Shimakaze, who chanted nothing but "Ou!"

And so, James promised that he'd go with the girls to buy new clothes as well.

At a clothing store, he picked out $50 worth of T-shirts, shorts and hats, while the girls got shorts, bras, panties, pajamas, and other stuff. Hell, even Shimakaze somehow managed to get her little Rensouhou trio little outfits.

Eventually, it came to be around 4:00 P.M when the group finally got back to base.

James was in his office, going through the documents that Admiral Hobe sent; he was getting more girls two days from now, and the report read that he was getting four more destroyers, two light cruisers and a heavy cruiser. He even saw that either a battleship or a carrier would be coming as well.

Looking up at the clock, he realized it was getting dark, and that it was almost time to hit the sack. "Damn, no wonder time flew by," he thought to himself.

As he went to put the folder up, he decided that he would familiarize himself with the girls and learn about their histories. What he didn't know was what each of the girls would tell him would be heart-breaking, painful memories.

* * *

**Present Day:**

James and his small group of injured shipgirls entered the damaged battleship's dorm. Completely exposed on one side, the building had looked as if a bomb had been dropped right beside it.

At first, he had hoped that the strong, powerful battleships would have survived uninjured.

The pride of his fleet: battleships Nagato, Fusou, Yamashiro, Kongou, Hiei, Ise, Hyuuga and Yamato. James hoped that they would have rode out the explosions, being able to walk out with only minor cuts and bruises.

_**He was wrong**_. As he opened the door, James' jaw dropped. In front of him were his half-dead, half-injured dreadnoughts:

Kongou, missing fingertips on her right hand and cut in several places, was crying heavily while holding her lifeless sister, who had a board of lumber impaled right through her chest.

Nagato, headgear missing and a nasty-looking gouge in her left shoulder, comforted a devastated Yamashiro. Elder sister Fusou lay nearby, decapitated in a pool of warm blood.

He could hear "Nnn..nnn..NEE-SAMAAAAAAAAA!" from her, as she buried her face in a teary-eyed Nagato's chest.

Yamato was sitting in the corner with her arms wrapped around her legs, in tears, her radar ornament missing, only in her bra due to her serafuku being shredded by flying shrapnel, crying.

Both Ise and Hyuuga were both crushed beneath the collapsed wall nearby. The only thing that told James who was under there was Ise's red bow, laying in her right hand, covered with soot and, mostly, blood.

James stood in utter disbelief uttering "Oh… dear God…"

**-And there you guys go. Sorry this one took so long. Class, work and worrying about grades (Math, especially) delayed this chap. Now it's time for: Chapter Name Suggestion Time! Once a suggestion is liked and credit is given, be ready for Part II.**


	6. Familiarization Part II

**It's your pal Aron again! So this one is going to be the second part of Familiarization. Remember the Budweiser commercial from '01? And for those who wondered "is there anymore dead or injured?" Well, see for yourselves… Enjoy!**

_**Chapter 6: Familiarization Part II**_

* * *

**Present-Day; August 25****th****, 2025:**

* * *

"A….aaaa….Admiral!?" Nagato, still teary-eyed, was the first of the four surviving battleships of the ruined dorm to speak up, having noticed James and the survivors from Mamiya's café.

James didn't reply. Still staring at Ise's red ribbon, in her lifeless, bloodied hand, he was still in shock.

The memories of his grandfather's horrific stories of the Vietnam conflict, ranging from the disasterous Tet offensive to the evacuations in the last few days of the war, were still lingering in his mind.

Kuma, who helped sister Kitakami sit down without making her injured knee even worse, noticed and started waving right hand in front of him.

"Admiral….hello, anyone there, kuma?" she asked.

He finally noticed. "Oh…sorry. Thanks Kuma."

"It's okay, kuma. You're not the only one here that spaces out, kuma."

"Wait…dangit! I didn't blank out, I just … Aw forget it!"

"Admiral…I mean James*snf*, what happened?" a calmed-down Yamashiro asked James, still trying not to look at her decapitated older-sister.

He sighed, facepalming, then began:

"There has been a massive explosion…."

The surviving battleships gasped, completely shocked at the word "explosion."

He continued. "Apparently, it looks as if the whole base got destroyed pretty badly. I've already seen several casualties, including five destroyers, six light cruisers, Mamiya, and a light carrier. But now, these four…. I can't even believe it."

"Oh….no…" Nagato sighed depressingly, looking back down at the floor.

Instead of literally jumping up and bear-hugging James to death, Kongou spoke up as well, still in tears.

"If that was an explosion, whe..*snff*..where did it come from then*snff*?" she asked.

After hearing Kongou's question, James suddenly remembered the battleship shell from in front of Mamiya's.

"Wait a minute!" he began. "If that battleship shell exploded in front of the café, then…."

He paused for a few seconds.

"Oh God."

The girls looked at him. They knew he had realized something.

"What is it?" Naganami asked, curiously.

He didn't reply. As he ran out the door, James accidentally knocked both Isokaze and Hamakaze down, without stopping to apologize.

All of the girls in the room just stared out the door, confused.

"What…did he mean by battleship shell?" they all asked each other.

Then, Nagato's eyes widened in horror. "He meant the ammunition storage warehouse….."

Everyone's eyes widened as well.

Inazuma and Kuma ran after James.

The little destroyer knew that the blast had to do something with ammunition, but didn't know how.

On the way to him, they found Yuugumo holding critically-injured sister Makigumo in her arms, crying.

Yuugumo's clothes were torn and ripped. A small gash was in her right shoulder, with blood caked around it. Other than that, she was okay. Except the fact that she was worrying about sisters Takanami and Kazagumo, although after asking, found out that Naganami was okay.

Makigumo, however, was nowhere close to okay: her glasses were shattered, the glass shards having embedded themselves in her eyes, leaving her blind, left arm laying severed nearby, the stump pouring blood into a small puddle, face cut all over, her pink hair covered in light dirt, and the purple and white uniform was torn in places. She could barely speak.

"Iiitt….*cough*…hhuuurrrttsss", she tried to say, but coughed blood trying to.

With their best efforts, Inazuma, Kuma and Yuugumo all managed to stop the stump from bleeding anymore together.

As they managed to help Makigumo to her feet, they jumped as they heard a loud shout.

"**HOLY FUUCKKK!"**

That's when the light cruiser and destroyers knew right then and there that James found the site of the first explosion.

* * *

**June 24****th****, 2023. 11:00 A.M:**

James was on his computer, watching episodes of Beavis and Butt-Head. Since there wasn't much to do until the new girls came, he told the girls that today was a lazy day. He was in the middle of the episode "No Laughing", when his his phone rang. It was his good buddy, Junichi Saoru.

However, what happened next was similar to a familiar Budweiser commercial.

Picking it up, he answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, 'Deadeye'. 'Sup?"

"Nothin, Saoru. Doin' my business, here at Sabo Island. 'Sup with you?"

"Nothin. On Ashigara, still second-in-command."

"True, true."

"_**WASSUP!**_" It was another fellow shipmate and James' friend, Fujiro Mikasa.

"_**WASSUP!**_"

"Yo! Who dat?" James asked.

"Yo! Yo pick up the phone!"

Mikasa answered. "Hello?"

"_**WASSUP!**_" James replied, tongue sticking out.

"_**WASSUP!**_" Mikasa replied back.

"_**SUUUUUUUUUUUP!**_" Junichi replied, his tongue out.

"Yo! Where's Dai'te?"

"Yo Dai'te!"

Ashigara's main gunnery commander, 30 year-old Kenji Dai'te was in his quarters, on his laptop. "Yo."

"_**WASSUP!**__" _

"_**WASSUP**_….." he replied.

"_**SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!**__"_

"_**SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!**__"_

"_**SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP**_haha!"

Then, unexpectedly, James heard a buzz from the speaker connecting his room to the others. "Yo, hold on."

Pressing it he asked "Hello?"

Weirdly, it was all of the girls.

"_**WASSUP!"**_

James, Junichi, Fujiro, and Dai'te all replied back with a big _**"SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"**_

All except James and Junichi hung up.

"So wassup with you?" James asked him.

"Nothin. On Ashigara, still second-in-command." Saoru replied back.

"True, true."

"Busy, huh?" Junichi asked. "I was getting curious about how my best friend was doing in his new position, and I figured why not check on ya!"

"Dude, I'm actually enjoying this so far!" 'Deadeye' replied back.

"Great. Hey, is it alright if I come to Sabo Island and see ya?"

"Well… Sure! Come down anytime."

"Thanks, dude. Good talkin' to ya! Bye."

They hung up. "Well….looks like I'm expecting a guest later on," he said to himself.

* * *

Sitting at his computer desk, after ordering himself a new electric guitar off of "Amazon Cubed", James decided to finally start familiarizing himself with the girls.

After all, he had already spent an hour watching some old episodes of the dynamic dumbasses, another hour filing a cabinet's worth of paperwork, and another of polishing his marksman's rifle.

Of course, who wouldn't get to know living warships after an hour of nearly losing your mind from watching two animated dumb teens cause mischief in their town?

He also still couldn't get over the fact that the ships lost in WWII were revived as living, beautiful girls. And he was their commander. Talk about being the luckiest man ever.

Getting up, he pondered over what he would do when he got down to the lounge area.

While heading down to where the girls were, James saw a wood sign. "Uh huh-huh-huh," he said, mimicking Butt-head, "Wood. Uh huh-huh-huh."

James wanted to get to know them by asking them things, ranging from their past life to what it's like to be back in the real world again. Surely nothing else could happen before he could familiarize with them.

Getting to the door, he opened it with a small creak.

Inside, the lounge area was quiet, except with the girls in front of the TV, on the couch. Fubuki and Inazuma, being the 1st and last sisters of the special-type destroyer class, were cuddled together with Ooyodo and Akashi, while Yuudachi sat on the soft carpet floor. All were watching an entire marathon of "Kamen Rider Shinkansen" (and yes, the classics, from Ichigou (1st) to Strikeout (last year's KM entry)). Nearby, Shimakaze was playing with her little Rensouhou buddies, the smallest one being flown around in Shimakaze's left hand, seemingly enjoying it. All were still in their pajamas, and he was too: light shorts, and a black t-shirt with Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" written in big, gold letters on it.

Instead of asking questions right away, he noticed the Kamen Rider marathon on the lounge's huge flat-screen TV.

"Ooooooooooooo….. Is that Kamen Rider!?" the 22 year-old asked.

"Yep," Yuudachi began. "And you're just in time for the first episode, poi!"

Ooyodo looked towards him. She was in a blue and white tank top, with long blue sweatpants.

"Sir, would you like to join us?" she asked.

"Sure. After all, who wouldn't?"

He had a point. After all, he was a big fan of tokusatsu series such as Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and Metal Heroes. The main reason why he got into the entertainment was because of the "Gojira" films that he and his dad watched when he was a kid. The series that got him interested in the genre first was by watching old clips of Ultraman.

For the next few thirty minutes, the group all watched as Koujii Shinobe, known as Kamen Rider Shinkansen, use powers based off of the country's high-speed bullet train to defeat the forces of the "Koujaminei Tribe", one villain per episode. Rumors went around the internet that the second Rider would be announced at episode ten's air date.

After the first episode aired, James began.

"So, girls. I have really wanted to ask all of you a question."

They all noticed. "What question?" Akashi asked, confused.

"Well, I was wondering about how you all like to be back after most of ya'll were sunk in the war or scrapped."

Silence.

At first, none of the girls could speak. They were all shivering, even the little Rensouhou trio was too.

Tears could be seen starting to trickle down Inazuma's eyes, Fubuki holding her, trying not to cry herself.

"…..It's…been lonely and cold," Ooyodo started. "We thought that we would never see another human being ever."

"That was until the navy secured our souls and created our bodies to house them," Akashi said, holding Yuudachi, who had just crawled into her arms. "And now we're here, glad to serve a commander once again."

This made James feel sorry for them badly, so he gave each of them a hug, letting them know that he cares.

"Listen. You don't have to remind yourselves of the past. Be thankful that you're back in our world again. Don't think of the cold, dark depths at where most of you ended up back in the forties, think about being together again, and share the good memories you all had back then. I want to say that I will love all of you and take care of everyone on this base the best I can, because you all feel like sisters to me already. Just remember that this fleet roster will grow through time, not to mention that we'll be expecting some more new arrivals tomorrow. Hell, maybe some of them might be your sister or sisters, so ya'll will have more company, alright?"

For a second, the girls stared at each other, then back to James, all teary-eyed.

"**COMMANDER!**" they all yelped together, jumping up and tackling James to the floor with a big hug, all crying.

Trying to revel back from the pain of hitting the floor hard, he tried to group-hug the girls in order to comfort them.

After a few minutes of crying, Yuudachi looked up. "Do you *snff* really mean it *snff*, poi?"

"Yes, Yuudachi, I do…"

Just as he finished, a rerun episode of "Dai Sentai Goggle V" came on.

"Well, I'll be damned! Come on, let's watch Goggle V gals, and for the heck of it, we'll make curry tonight!"

"YAY!" they screamed with joy, except with the occasional "Ou!" from Shimakaze.

* * *

**Dinnertime, 5:00 P.M:**

After an hour and a half of cooking, the chicken curry was done. Loaded with grilled chicken, vegetables such as potatoes carrots and onion, it was all served on plates of hot white rice.

At first bite, the girls literally went nuts, almost falling head-over-heels for the goodness. After all, James had told them that they could help make it with him. Even after Jambalaya nignt, they still liked his cooking, although it had been nearly a week since the first day.

"Wow, looks like I did it again, huh?" he said.

"Yes, but this time we cooked with you, commander!" Fubuki replied with a big smile.

"Yeah, poi! Don't forget that we made this together, poi!" Yuudachi wailed.

"Oh, sorry. You all did an excellent job helping me today."

"Yay! Now pet me, poi!"

"Wait….what!?" James was baffled. _'Why does she want me to pet her? Does she want me to think that…..Oh wait, now I remember. The game's fandom made fun of her as being like a dog!' _he thought to himself.

"Ppooooooiiiiiiiiiiii! Pet meeeeeeeeeeee!" she wailed, waving her arms around.

"Jesus! Fine, come here."

Coming up to him, James took his hand and started rubbing his hand on her head, the little blonde yelping 'Poi!' over and over again. The rest of the girls just sat there, with blank faces, just watching.

* * *

After that the rest of the evening went well. What was left was now leftovers for tomorrow, and dishes were cleaned up. During dishwashing, the girls laughed as the smallest Rensouhou-chan fell into the water and came up covered in bubbles, looking like he had a beard.

While they were taking care of things, James was in his room, checking a short E-mail message Admiral Hobe had sent him a few minutes ago:

* * *

_**Commander Kouichi**__**,**_

**As you may have known by now, you are expecting more personnel tomorrow, and your first shipment of bauxite. ****Also, trains of building supplies and interior decorations will be coming to the island for the next few more days.**

**Speaking of trains, a railroad from the United States is offering to donate one of their locomotives for use on your ****line.****I hope you wouldn't mind using extra power.**

**The personnel will include: Destroyers: Murakumo, Samidare, Asashio, and Ushio.**

** Light cruisers: Kuma and Isuzu. **

**Heavy cruiser: Maya. **

**And finally, Light carrier: Jun'you.**

**I expect that you will take good care of them. I also expect that you have your girls carry out their first sortie soon.**

**Great day, **

**Admiral Hobe**

* * *

After reading this, James looked up the ships on Wikipedia, and felt excited. The second group of ships being sent to him had a light aircraft carrier included.

Then it hit him: he would need to request for lots of alcohol, because he knew that Jun'you was a big drunkard in the game's fandom.

"Oh….Crap!" he exclaimed. "Looks like we have a drunk coming. Well…better get to E-mailing."

And for the next hour and a half, James Koichi sent e-mail requests for alcohol to be shipped on the next train into Port Sabo Island.

* * *

**And there's number 6! Sorry this one took a while. With my second semester finished, I can finally get to start writing more. Once again, credit goes to hfdt123 for creating this chapter's name. I made my own take of Budweiser's "Wassup" commercial from 1999, thinking it would be hilarious to add. Chapter 7 will be explain the characters and their backgrounds. After that, Ch.8 will be "New Arrivals 2". Until then, see ya!**


	7. Human OC Profile I, Part I

**-So by now, you all are probably wanting to know more about James. You've probably wondered about "Where was he born? Why did his family move to America? How did he end up at Annapolis?"**

**And all other questions. Well, here's the first of several OC profiles:**

* * *

**Character Profile and Biography Number One: James Kouichi, part 1:**

**Name: **James Ryuku Kouichi (Real name: Toshiro Ryuuku Kouichi)

**Nickname(s): **'Deadeye', 'Tosh' (Only called by friends in US).

**Birthdate: **March 7th, 2001

**Age: **22 (2023, becomes commander), 24 (2025, year of disaster)

**Place of Birth: **Osaka (Family immigrated to California a year later)

**Height: **5'2

**Weight: **170 lbs

**Blood Type: **A

**Eye Color: **Blue

**Body Build: **Well-built, somewhat muscular.

**Hair Color: **Black

**Hair Type: **Short, trimmed mullet (2023), slightly-longer mullet, tied into Steven Segal-like ponytail (2025)

**Favorite Artists: ** AC/DC, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Pantera, Whitesnake, Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, Queen, Scorpions, Dio, Judas Priest, Accept, Foreigner, Journey, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Rolling Stones, The Dazz Band, Run D.M.C, and others.

**Interests: **Railroading, tokusatsu, TV, exercising, weapons, women, World War Two history, the thought of being an admiral, Jack Daniel's, any kind of food that is spicy.

**Dislikes: **Squid, sake, annoying people, politics, and golf.

**Personality: **Kind of weird, but a friendly guy, and pretty cool once you get to know him. Has traits just like any admiral: calm and collected. Respected by fellow sailors, officers and higher-ranking officials. Well-respected by the girls on base, except Akebono.

* * *

**Biography:**

Born in Osaka, Japan, James is the son of Ketsuo (Father) and Sakura (Mother) Kouichi. Ketsuo, a former member of the JMSDF who served in the 1990s, is now the proud owner and founder of '_Kouichi's Authentic Japanese Noodles',_ a successful chain of noodle shops in Los Angeles, California. Sakura, having met Ketsuo while he was on leave, currently helps her husband with the business.

When Toshiro was one, both Ketsuo and Sakura lost Ketsuo's family clothing store in a horrific fire that destroyed a city block. With no other options, they decided to immigrate to the United States in 2002.

Arriving in Los Angeles, Ketsuo, having thought of his grandfather's ramen recipes, decided to start a noodle shop in downtown Los Angeles. Almost immediately, the newly-opened shop became so popular that Sakura suggested that she and her husband open a second shop. After that, the business took off. By 2009, the family had 20-30 stores throughout Los Angeles County.

Meanwhile, growing up, Toshiro had problems adjusting to his new home and country. By late 2008, the conditions in the neighborhood he and his parents lived in was trying to improve, he found it hard to make friends, and everything in the US was still too new to him.

Throughout elementary school, after learning English perfectly, Toshiro made friends with several kids who were also originally from Japan.

One of them was Jun'ichi Saoru, who would be Toshiro's best friend and future second-in-command of the Ashigara. It was in 5th grade that several of his friends would call Toshiro 'Tosh', after Comedy Central celebrity Daniel Tosh, the host of 'Tosh.0'.

His middle school years, however, were the worst in his life, considering the fact that his sister, Haruka, was killed in a freeway pileup before Thanksgiving break, which really depressed poor 'Tosh'.

But he first discovered his love of learning the history of the Second World War, when he became interested in a History Channel documentary on the battle of Midway, that he and his classmates watched in history class one day.

Fascinated, he began studying the Japanese warships from that era, and hoped that someday, he could try to find the wrecks at Midway. He laughed that dream off, instead thinking of being a admiral in the navy.

In high school, Toshiro decided that he would permanently change his name to 'James', due to the fact that his teachers and advisors had trouble pronouncing his real name. He discovered his favorite rock artists around this time as well.

He had no trouble passing his courses throughout freshman, sophomore, and junior years. It seemed as if school would be easy to fly by. Too easy… it seemed.

But by the beginning of senior year, he didn't want to graduate in 2019, and end up working in his father's noodle business. Instead, he wanted to join the navy, where he could sail the world's oceans, and experience what it is like to be a sailor. That is when he decided to enroll at the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and begin his journey…

**Okay, I know this one's short, but I'll be starting several OC character profiles. These will include:**

**-Humans**

**-Destroyers (Fubuki, Ayanami, Hatsuharu, Shiratsuyu, Asashio, Kagerou, Yuugumo, and Akizuki classes)**

**-Foreign Ships**

**-And other ships not in the game yet. **

**Keep an eye out for #8: New Arrivals 2! :3**


	8. New Arrivals II

**N/A: This Ch. Is set in 2023.**

**There are some trains/railroads in this chapter as well, so get ready to learn some interesting stuff, and James remembers an old neighbor from his childhood. And we meet some newbies.**

**Once again, Enjoy! **

**P.S: When you see *, that is a real thing, or was. Look it up! It's really interesting if you're a railroad buff. **

* * *

_**Chapter 8: New Arrivals II**_

* * *

**June 25****th****, 2023. 7:00 - 9:00 A.M:**

***Buzz*Buzz*Buzz*Buzz*…** The alarm clock in James' room went off. Instead of waking up, he reached over, trying to turn the snooze button on.

"Dahmmn…cmm onnn…." he mumbled, half-asleep.

James had nearly been up all night sending E-mails, requesting for the next supply train to bring alcohol, building supplies for a bar, and more clothes and food.

To the admiralty, he replied back to Admiral Hobe's E-mail saying that he would send his girls on their first sortie in two days.

A few days earlier, the 23 year-old had first arrived at the new island base, and the following day, received his first arrivals by train. And now, he was expecting more new arrivals later that morning.

But at the moment, he just wanted to get back to sleep. "Uhhhhh," he moaned, grabbing the covers while turning back onto his stomach. "Just…want… another half hour….*zzzz*."

Before he could even reach for the clock, loud footsteps could be heard sounding like a herd of buffalo, and without warning, Fubuki, Inazuma, and Yuudachi came thundering in, jumping onto the commander's bed.

"Hhng!" was all he could muster as all three landed on him.

"GOOD MORNING!" the little trio greeted him, hugging him and smiling.

Trying to recover, he replied back. "Geh..Good morning."

"So… how did you sleep, nanodesu?" Inazuma questioned, sweet and softly.

"Fine, until both the alarm clock went off any ya'll came barging in. Other than that, I've been sending E-mails from my laptop last night, so I only got 4-5 hours of sleep. And ya'll?"

"We slept well, poi," Yuudachi answered him, with her adorable verbal tic. "We all cuddled up together and slept like dogs, poi!"

"Good to know… Anyway, I need to get up and make breakfast. We're having breakfast bowls!"

"You mean 'we', right, poi?" Yuudachi replied, a serious look on the little blonde's face.

"Yes. And also, we're getting new comrades today!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

And for the next 30 minutes, after getting up and heading to the kitchen, James and the trio of destroyers managed to cook a huge pot of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, onions, bell peppers and cheese. It was big enough for not only the bowls, but for leftovers as well.

James fixed everyone's bowls and sent them to the table. Even Shimakaze's rensouhou-chans got their own, tiny bowls too.

By now, the girls had gotten used to their commander's Western foods, and really enjoyed it. He promised them that he would make them something new Friday night, although James couldn't decide between either cheeseburger mac or meatloaf.

After fixing his bowl, sitting down and eating for a few minutes, he made an announcement.

"Alright," he began. "So you're all wondering who will be coming today and when you'll carry out your first sortie?"

"Ou! Yesh, I wantsh to knowsh if Amatsushkaze-neesh is comingsh!" Shimakaze blared out, food still in her mouth.

_***WHACK!***_

Ooyodo, sitting next to Shimakaze, smacked her in the side of the face with a document folder James handed to her a few minutes ago.

"Shimakaze-chan! Manners, please!?"

"Ooouuuuuuu…Ow!?" the destroyer replied, holding her swollen cheek.

Everyone else didn't laugh, but Yuudachi thought it was hilarious.

"**Bwahhh….hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, pppooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiii!**" laughing as she banged her hands on the table, before falling to the floor.

The entire time, James and the rest of the girls just stared with blank faces.

After a few more minutes of laughing poi-ness, James finally continued.

"…..As I was saying, the reason why I wanted to sleep in a little longer was because I have been up almost all night after Admiral Hobe sent me a e-mail, saying that four destroyers, two light-cruisers, one heavy-cruiser, and a light carrier are to arrive two hours from now."

All of the girls' faces lit up and squealed with excitement.

"Aaaaaaiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee!"

James swore he heard a nearby window shatter due to high pitch of their excited outburst.

"Dammit! My eardrums!"

Inazuma began to worry all of a sudden.

"Hawawawawawawa! Koichi-san, are you okay?" she asked, sweetly.

"**WHAT!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"** he yelled back, due to the fact he was almost deaf.

She started crying.

"*sniff* *sob*I'm…*sniff* sorry, nanodesu *sniff*.."

James facepalmed in his thoughts. _"Uhhggg…..today's gonna be a long day…"_

* * *

**Later that morning, 9:59 A.M….**

After the whole episode during breakfast, and cleaning up the dorms and other stuff, James and the girls were now standing on the station platform.

Being annoyed at the size of it, Koichi tried requesting for a bigger station, but the reply said:

**At the moment, due to the size of your fleet, railway station upgrading is not possible. Let the number grow and e-mail back.**

**Thanks,**

_**JMSDF Railway Division**_

James' only silent reply: "Crap"

"So…which train comes in first, commander?" Fubuki asked, curiously.

"Oh... I don't know. Probably the supply one?"

He was actually right. As Hobe's said, the train of supplies would arrive first, with the U.S locomotive in tow. Following the freight train would be the KiHa carrying the new girls. The only thing James cared about was what locomotive type the United States sent him and what railroad sent it.

He hoped that it would be one of BNSF's retired EMD SD40-2s* (The most produced six-axle freight locomotive in the U.S).

Maybe an ex-Southern Pacific B40-8* or a ex-Santa Fe B40-8W* (W stands for 'Widecab').

Maybe an old CSX B30-8* in original Family Lines (Seaboard System* &amp; Chessie System* merger) colors with CSXT patched numbers.

Maybe, if possible, a Montana Rail Link SD70Ace*, which surprisingly, is Fubuki's new favorite train.

Or, an old Union Pacific EMD GP38-2*.

At the moment, that didn't matter as an unfamiliar engine's rumble could be heard.

"Hhhhhh-hhhhhnnnnnn!" the horn blared, but it wasn't DE10's familiar horn.

As the shape came into view, the engine leading the DE10 made James' jaw drop. "No way…!"

Coming round the bend behind it, was former Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul (Milwaukee Road*) SD40-2 number 197, formerly Los Angeles Container Terminal Railway # 5.

The six-axle diesel, built by GE, had a long history behind her:

First serving the Milwaukee until the SOO Line merger in 86', she was repainted and renumbered as SOO Line* # 6361, until being sold to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern* with her same number, finally retired in 2010, and later purchased by the L.A Container Terminal Railway. When the SD was finally retired in August 2018, it sat dormant until May 2023, when it was purchased by the JMSDF and restored to Milwaukee Road colors: orange and black. It had the original wheel and truck assemblies, but had been modified to fit the Japanese loading gauge, and had JNR-style couplers.

On the cabside was the former Class 1 railroad's signature red and white logo.

Behind his 'special locomotive' was four open hoppers, nearly loaded to the brim with bauxite, a new earth mineral recently discovered in a mine near Mount Fuji. Brown in appearance, it had the texture and feel of coal, but the shape of the piece the foreman handed him was bumpy. Also with the hoppers were three small flat cars of building supplies, and a two-axle boxcar loaded with alcohol, such as beer, sake, whiskey, vodka, and glasses.

"Weird. Who knew Mount Fuji was hiding secret materials?" James pondered, still puzzled by the lump of bauxite in his hand.

Stepping on 197's front step, he felt a sudden wave of railroading history and a childhood memory:

In 2004, James' father, Ketsuo, befriended a former Milwaukee Road engineer named Donald Patterson. He told a then-young James the story of the CM&amp;SP, later Milwaukee Road:

The railroad's founding in in 1851, completion of the extension to Seattle in 1911, electrification in 1912, the "Little Joes"* introduction in the fifties, the fateful decision to de-electrify the Pacific extension in 1973 (Just as the Oil Crisis was starting to take full-swing), the disasterous decision of abandoning the ENTIRE system west of Minnesota and near-bankruptcy in 1980 (Due to Idaho, Montana and Washington states embargoing "America's Most-Resourceful Railroad") and merger on New-Year's Day 1986 (purchased by the SOO Line, which was later bought out by Canadian Pacific (CP) ) *, as well as personal moments with the railroad.

He had always mentioned a locomotive by the number 197, saying that he was assigned to the locomotive in the mid-70s and he called the SD40-2 'Millie', after he had been in a near-fatal head-on collision outside of Alberton, Montana in March 1975, and the fact that he had been assigned to the locomotive numerous times until his forced retirement in 1980.

Although he had been raised in BNSF territory, James held a deep passion for the Milwaukee, since it was the largest American Class 1 railroad to be abandoned.

At that moment, James nearly shed a tear, knowing that he now had a locomotive with a strong personal connection to him from childhood. He thought to himself, moving his hand back-and-fourth against the handrail

'_Well Mr. Patterson *sniff*, I finally have your old girl. You'd be proud that I've finally got to meet 'Millie', and now, I own her on my own railway. I know that you are probably looking down on me and smiling, because if you were still alive, you'd be really, really happy to see her again. I'll always treat her well like you did when you were my age; it's a promise that I WILL keep!'_

As he stood in front of 197's low-hood nose, Fubuki walked over.

"Commander, are you okay?"

Still remembering his late neighbor, James looked up.

"Yea, I'm fine!"

* * *

At the railway's maintenance shop, the foreman, Houji 'Shin' Shintou, took a peak at the foreign engine.

"Wow, so that's the locomotive the 'yankees' sent us! Looks like we'll be dealing with less mechanical issue then, huh Mira?"

Mira, or Mirakasa Ouka, a bit of a tomboy and the only female mechanic working for the railway, looked too.

"Damn! It is nice… wonder if we should ask Commander Koichi if we can get another one to replace the DE10?"

"No shit! I'm tired of having to keep that damned hydraulic still running! It nearly burst a cylinder head crossing the bridge yesterday."

'Shin' had a good point, though. After all, the DE10 they owned suffered from engine problems, due to the fact that the locomotive was built in 1966.

By early 2017, diesel-electrics had begun to replace the hydraulics, but many were still being used in Japan, despite being over 50 years old.

* * *

Meanwhile, after James had his moment, the horn of the KiHa 54-0 blared through the area, with a 'hhooonnn!' as the gear-driven railcar came screeching around the curve towards the station.

The girls were all excited, for friends and sisters they haven't seen in nearly a century were finally here.

James, still on 197 and realizing that the KiHa was about to stop at the platform, jumped down from the locomotive's steps and bolted over to the platform ramp, just in time. The car came to a halt with brakes on and the doors opened. One by one, the new girls came out, and with everyone else's assistance, managed to help unload their luggage and equipment.

A few minutes later, having lined them up shoulder-to-shoulder, James finally got to take a better look at his new girls:

* * *

**Fifth Fubuki-Class Destroyer Murakumo (**Gathering Clouds**): **A slight-bit taller than her older sister. Wears a long, white sailor's uniform with blue striping, a red tie, long black leggings, and white loafers. Long white hair, with, like Akashi, two "broom buns" tied with red ponytail holders and under her head.

James couldn't figure out why she had two detectors hovering above her head. Her equipment, along with guns and torpedo mount, features a javelin in the form of a ship's mast.

**Sixth Shiratsuyu-Class Destroyer Samidare (Early Summer Rain):** A tad-bit shorter than Yuudachi, wears a sleeveless white serafuku with dark blue edges and collar, elbow gloves, a white knee-length skirt, dark blue thigh-highs, and deep blue high-heels with clay red bottoms.

The only major feature that sticks out to James the most is her ocean-blue hair, which is long enough to be even with her feet. '_Holy Fuck! How is her hair that damn long? Talkin' bout a world record!' _he immediately thought to himself.

**First Asashio-Class Destroyer Asashio (Morning Tide):** Height is between Fubuki and Murakumo. Wears a buttoned all-white uniform, a grayish-black skirt with a white stripe around the bottom and suspenders, knee-high black leggings, and white slip-ons. Has one handheld turret and a handheld torpedo mount.

**Tenth Ayanami-Class/Twentieth Fubuki-Class Destroyer Ushio (Current):** Shorter than Fubuki, she wears nearly the same exact uniform as her oldest sister. Long black hair, with one strand curled up into an ahoge. Obviously shy when she introduced herself.

Although she had the body of a middle-schooler, her chest, however, was that of either a high-schooler or a college student. James' eyes widened, as he wondered how in the hell a little destroyer could have a huge rack. _'Damn...looks like someone had a huge-ass growth spurt during development. Bet the developers were stoned while creating a destroyer with huge breasts. Pedos...'_

Has a pink gun turret with a :3 for a face. Has a similar backpack like Fubuki. She squealed with joy as she saw said older sister, bear-hugging her face into her massive fuel-tanks.

**First Kuma-Class Light Cruiser Kuma:** Almost at James' own height. Wears a short white sailor's uniform with a light-blue neck collar, light blue elbow sleeves with white stripes, and a red tie. Part of her stomach is exposed due to how short the uniform is, white shorts with light-blue thigh folds and top band, with white stripes. Light-blue/white slip-ons complete the outfit.

Long brown hair with a bowl-shape at the top, and a massive ahoge fixed in the form of a hook. James wondered if her ahoge served as her "radar."

Has a bridge-like backpack with six funnel halves and two girder wings with one single gun mount each. James smirked due to the fact that she says 'kuma', translated as bear, at the end of every sentence. '_I'm just gonna nickname her "bear" for the hell of it.'_

**Second Nagara-Class Light Cruiser Isuzu:** Almost the same height as Kuma. Wears a sleeveless white tanktop with a chocolate-brown &amp; white striped collar, tied with a radar-looking 'thingy', as James called it.

White sleeves with brown stripes extends from her elbows to her wrists. Her stomach, like Kuma, is partially exposed. Hull-red skirt extends to nearly touch a pair of long, white kneesocks with brown stripes, and brown boots to complete the outfit.

Long, black hair tied in twin ponytails with a white bow on each tail. Light-green eyes, with an emerald-like glare. Obviously large-breasted like Ushio. _"Seriously!? WTF were the head program developers even thinking about making these girls look like?" _James thought while observing her.

Her equipment box wrapped around her back, with four miniature machine-gun mounts on it, a torpedo launcher attached to the right side of it and, the most badass thing of all to James, was her handheld cannon looked like the grip and butt stock of a rifle, attached to a light-brown leather sling that wraps around her neck.

**Third Takao-Class Heavy Cruiser Maya:** A slight bit taller than James. Wears an almost similar uniform to Isuzu, except that the heavy cruiser's is blue, features a white neck flap with a red stripe, and two red tassles coming from under the neck flap. A wrap-around belt with what looked like a canteen and a cigarette box. A short white skirt with a red stripe, and black knee-high combat boots completes her outfit.

Short brown hair with a white hair clip shaped like an X, and blue eyes. Unlike the others, she is well-built and strong-looking. Has medium-sized breasts and chiseled abs, like a female bodybuilder almost. _'Wow, somebody's been on too many steroids.'_

Has a mast-like headband which, like Murakumo, seems odd to James. Two double-barreled turrets that are attached to each arm sit with the rest of her equipment.

James couldn't notice how shitfaced the last girl was, but he knew who she was:

**Second Hiyou-Class Light Carrier Jun'you (Peregrine Falcon):** Taller than James, she wears a white blouse with red trimmings over a red dress shirt for the top and a magatama. For a skirt, she wears a wide red hakama trimmed down to calf-length. Brown slip-on shoes completes her outfit.

Her hair, really long feathered spiked purple hair, reminds James of Goku from the DragonBall Z reruns he used to watch when he was little.

Unlike the others, her equipment is pretty cool, because her flight deck is a scroll, and her planes were origami, as he could see some of them in a box. She also had a equipment box shaped like her bridge and smokestack.

The box next to it, however, obviously had sake. _'Cool. Looks like I have a new drinking buddy...'_

"Okayyy! Awesome, now we have enough to start the first sortie. Names please…"

* * *

**Present Day, August 25****th****, 2025:**

After a minute or so trying to find where James was, Kuma, Inazuma, Yuugumo and critically-injured Makigumo finally found where their admiral was.

However, the sight that made him scream lay right in front of them, and it was huge…

* * *

…**.And surprise! 8 is done! Wooh! Now this part is going to lead into the next chapter(s), mainly taking place during present-day (with some past action) , so expect a lot of gore, destruction, sadness, hilarity, and more stuff in:**

"**INFERNO" Part 1**

**See ya'll in next chapter!**

**-A-ron**


	9. Inferno Part l

**This will be part 2025, part 2023, and then back to 2025. And also, sorry for the long delay. Been taking my time with this one to not disappoint. **

**And no, I'm not dead! **

**Enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 9**_**: Inferno**_

* * *

**Present-Day, August 25****th****, 2025**

* * *

…as Inazuma, Kuma, Yuugumo and Makigumo stood beside their commander, James, they couldn't even believe what they were looking at.

What was once the base's main ammunition warehouse/storage hangar was now a massive crater. Up close, it was really, really huge. James estimated that it looked to be about 50 feet wide and 40 feet deep, big enough to be a huge swimming pool. Around the crater's edges were shattered and leaking water mains, electric wires still sparking from severed copper tubes.

Directly behind the crater, a patch of trees on a small hill had been reduced to burnt stumps, the fireball from the explosion probably being thrown in that direction. Inazuma whimpered like a baby, for she knew that several, or possibly, many animals were probably incinerated by it.

Empty and shattered shell casings littered the area surrounding the crater with steel paneling, chunks of concrete, splintered wood and other building material ended up either around the ruined base or in the immediate area. The largest identifiable piece of debris from the warehouse was the thick steel door.

"Holy…crap," he murmured silently.

The door itself was embedded in the ground near one side of the gymnasium. The rear of the door was buckled inward, possibly by the force of the explosion, blackened and red-hot in several places. The locking mechanisms were twisted and bent, the handles were missing from their mountings, and the small procedure poster was singed, barely readable. James also noticed that the dorm it struck had taken the brunt force of the shockwave:

The entire building had nearly been completely demoished, with its north-most wall, facing the warehouse directly, caved inwards by the force of the blast, and the roof having been peeled backwards like opening a can lid. Nails were found sheered in half, as if they were too weak to withstand such force. The glass windows near the entrance were shattered, glass fragments strewn about by them.

He knew that if any girls were in there, none of them would have stood a chance against the blast.

However, he could hear a familiar voice from behind him. "A...Admiral? Is that…y…you, poi?" James could also hear a few other footsteps as well, and knew that a group had been inside at the time and had just come out.

Turning around, James saw Yuudachi, tearing up and hugging him just as he turned around.

From what he could see, Yuudachi's description fitted her damaged model from the game, except that her physical injuries were worse: three of the front teeth on her upper jaw were missing, blood caked and dried up from where they were. The bridge of her nose was caved in, bruised heavily near it. Her lip was busted, the bleeding already stopped. Several shards of glass were in her right arm, blood running down her arm. But other than that, she was okay.

She wasn't alone, though. Behind her were a few others, but it was apparent to James that they were hurt too:

-Fubuki had a severed right hand and a deep gash in her forehead. Also, she kept complaining of pain in her chest, which told James that several of her ribs were broken.

-Satsuki had a deep gouge in her left thigh, bruised and was bleeding from several other cuts. One of her two ponytails was loose, letting part of her long yellow hair down.

-Samidare had her long white uniform torn in places, was missing her right eye, and her scalp had been cut open, the blood mixing itself with her beautiful, long blue hair.

-Uzuki was holding her severed left arm in her right hand, with blood clots already stopping the bleeding from getting worse, dark pink hair all messy with her moon-shaped pin torn in half. Her little rabbit companion was in her hair, with a tiny bandage wrapped around its right ear.

-Shirayuki was bruised and cut in several places. Although her left knee was nearly broken and a small chunk of her right arm was gone, she managed to carry an unconscious Murakumo, who had been struck in the head by a metal bar, from what she told James.

-Murakumo herself, other than being 'knocked-out' by a flying object, had a nail stuck in her right elbow and left shoulder, several splinters, and a bloodied, broken nose.

-Yuubari had all of the skin missing from her left cheek, completely exposing the inside of her mouth. Amazingly, other than her cheek, the entire front of her body was unscathed. But while making sure she wasn't really hurt, James saw that her entire backside was completely riddled with glass shards and several nails. She was in shock, and he wondered if she had any pain from that at all.

-Yamagumo's hair was in a mess. It didn't matter, considering that sister Asagumo had her left arm around her, due to the fact that her left leg was gone. James determined that it was sliced off by a piece of steel rebar.

-Asagumo herself was trying not cry out in pain, for she couldn't feel anything in her right arm, but still managed to help her now one-legged sister. She also had a large, blood-caked tiger stripe-like cut across her face.

But of the group, only one nearly made James completely lose it: Akashi.

She had both of her arms severed, the bloodied stumps having been bandaged up already. A tiny piece of rebar had impaled itself into her skull which, from James' own guess, might have seriously (or permanently) damaged the top-right lobe of her brain. Parts of her armor had cut into her ribcage, probably damaging several internal organs, which explained why she was coughing up blood. Her uniform was near to the point of falling off and she had numerous cuts, bruises and puncture wounds. It seemed to the Admiral as if the poor repair ship was hit by the full-force of the blast and, sadly, lived.

With a pouting look, Yuudachi spoke up again.

"Jjjjaaammmeeesss! Aren't you gonna do something, poi?"

"Yuudachi, I'm glad all of you are okay, but…"

Before he could finish, the group heard loud running, and a loud yell.

**"Cccoommmannnndddeeerrrr!**"

James turned back around to see both Tone and Chikuma running like they have seen a ghost. Tone's ponytails were undone, her long hair down and dirty. She had a nasty bruise on the side of her face, and numerous cuts on her fingers. Chikuma was missing half of her long, black hair and the upper part of her uniform was torn up.

"Tone? Chikuma? Oh my God, are you two girls okay? What's wrong?" he asked hurriedly.

Chikuma spoke up first. "Sir, we're fine, it's…" before she could finish, James interrupted her with a question.

"Chikuma … why is your hair short all of a sudden?"

The heavy-cruiser then blushed, lightly.

"Eh…sir, the end was on fire and Tone-sama had to cut half of it off by…" Before she could finish, he interrupted again.

"Wait… Did you say…fire?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, she did. Why?" Tone replied back, with some sort-of harsh tone.

"Well, do you not see the fire in the crater behind me? That was the ammo warehouse."

Both Tone and Chikuma looked behind him.

**"Ehhhhhhhhh!?**"

"Well…?"

"That's what caused all of this?" Tone exclaimed.

"Yep."

Then, Chikuma remembered why she and her older sister had ran around the ruined base to find James in the first place.

"Um…Admiral, can you get any other shipgirl that you have found and meet us at the Carrier's dorm as quickly as possible?"

James looked at her with a dull ._. "Wait, why?"

She started to tear up. "The…th…"

Tone spoke up for her. "The Carrier's dorm is on fire….."

* * *

**June 25****th****, 2023. 2:00 P.M, Admiral's Office:**

* * *

"_In the city, of L.A. In the city, of good old Watts. In the city, city of Compton._

_They're Poplockin'_

_Poplockin' in Rolls-Royces, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz, _

_Poplockin' in Howard Johnson, Sheraton, Poplockin' at the Holiday Inn_

_Poplockin' in Hollywood, it's understood_

_While listening to the Mac_

_Poplockin' at Broadway, everyday_

_To the Preachers…"_

The lyrics of Ronnie Hudson's 1982 pop hit "West Coast Poplock" played on the speaker connected to James' iPhone 10. Being from California, playing this song from time-to-time would remind him of home. Not to mention it is one of his favorites.

He was sitting in his office, at his desk, wondering how he could train the girls in the morning. Writing on a piece of paper, he had some ideas, ranging from an obstacle course, target practice, sailing maneuver practice, or have Ooyodo teach the destroyers the basics.

But for now he was just brainstorming for ideas. And he was bored.

"Meh," he sighed. "I'll just play some more Train Simulator 2022." Besides, he had already finished arranging more paperwork, and couldn't decide on whether to either watch Kamen Rider or play TS2022.

He decided to play with trains, then maybe call and talk to his parents and hear about how they're doing.

* * *

Meanwhile, after the new girls had arrived and introduced themselves to James, he had Ooyodo give them a tour of the base, where they'll be sleeping at, eating at, and most importantly, where they'll be training and sortieing from.

"Okay, so this is the destroyer's dorms," Ooyodo began. "It may be bigger than the others, but the main reason why is because there are more destroyers than the other ship types, the building has been divided into rooms for each respectable class, from Mutsuki to Akizuki."

"Umm…Really!?" Ushio asked excitedly, yet timidly.

"Yes… Well except Shimakaze…" the light cruiser said with a weird expression.

And just as she said that, with a big "OU!", an already teared-up Shimakaze sped off towards the newly-erected café, crying.

With a blank expression on their faces, everyone just watched as the smoke trail dissipated.

"Wow… did that just… happen, poi…?" Yuudachi barked up, unexcitedly.

The group already knew why: back in the 1940s, the experimental destroyer was supposed to have sixteen sisters of her design, but due to the carrier losses at Midway in June 1942, the Japanese navy decided to cancel the orders for them and focus on building new carriers instead.

"Poor Shimakaze," Samidare began, sorrowfully. "I hope Amatsukaze-chan will come soon, she'll be so happy."

Everyone looked at her.

"Amatsukaze-chan?" Asashio popped up. "What's so special about her?"

"Well, do any of you remember seeing her?" the blue-haired destroyer questioned.

The girls just stood there, thinking. Well…except Jun'you, who was passed out…

_Seriously! How the hell does someone just wind up on the f*cking ground and…_

**(Everyone looks toward the imaginary narrator, with -_-' on their faces**)

"Ah…Mr. Narrarator!? You're rambling!" Maya yelled.

_Oh crap… Sorry everyone…got carried away. *ahem* back to the story…_

…on the ground with a bottle of sake in her right hand.

"Hmmm… Oh yeah! Now I remember!" Isuzu began. "Back at the factory, I heard that Amatsukaze almost looked like Shimakaze-chan, mainly because of her hair. I also heard rumors from the historians there that one of the planned sisters was to bear her name, but that never happened, since one of the Kagerou-class destroyers was already named that."

After she finished, Maya smacked her in the back of the head. "Owww! What was that for!?"

"You idiot! You just heard damn rumors!"

With a o3o –like face expression, the light cruiser replied back. "Geez…Don't get your rigging in a wad…"

"…Anyway…" Ooyodo began again. "…Shimakaze-chan will be getting her own room. But, it's very small….", with a -_-' .

"As in closet-small?" Asashio asked.

"Yep."

After that, Ooyodo finished up the tour by taking everyone to the brand-new deployment dock and the fairies' dorms.

Meanwhile, James was still on TS2022, driving a BR Class 27 on the Weardale and Teesdale Railway Network route, when a message icon popped up on the lower right-hand corner. It was Admiral Hobe. And this made James nervous as to what it would say…

* * *

**Present Day…**

The sound of running could be heard after James started sprinting to the battleship's dorm, where he, Inazuma, and Kuma had left the first big group. He was heading back to find anyone from the first group that would be able to walk or lift anything, not missing a limb, fingers, or anything else.

On his way there, he was just about to go and turn towards the building when he noticed Ushio's group not far from him.

Unlike earlier, Akebono and Ushio were now laying against a fallen tree. Sazanami's body was nearby, covered up with a blanket Ushio had been hanging on to before the explosion. Nothing was covering up Oboro's body, though.

Instead of heading to the building, James decided to get them somewhere safer first. Walking towards them, he wanted to try his best at consoling them.

"Girls…" he began, but before he could finish, Ushio literally leaped up and almost tackled him to the ground, bawling her eyes out.

"Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….Admiraaalllllllll!"

"Ugh!" James groaned from the sudden hug that felt like getting tackled by a football player.

Reeling from the pain, he hugged Ushio.

"Hey…hey. Sshhh…it's okay, I'm alrigh-." He paused for a moment, suddenly remembering Sazanami and Oboro. "-oh God…I'm so sorry…" he said as she hugged him tighter.

By this point, James already knew what it was like to lose a sibling. When he was in middle school, his sister, along with several other elementary students, was killed when their school bus ended up in the largest freeway pileup in the history of L.A.

The bus had stopped on the shoulder to pick up an injured motorist, when a fully-laden tanker truck lost control and plowed into the rear of the bus, jackknifing the trailer into traffic, where a moving van then slammed into the tank, resulting in a massive explosion that engulfed both the Northbound and Southbound lanes, starting a massive chain-reaction of crashes, jackknifing, and numerous other explosions.

In all, nearly 130 people were dead, another 280 others were injured seriously or minorly, a record 320 cars, vans, trucks, and several buses destroyed or wrecked, and leaving a mind-blowing estimated total of nearly $30,000,000 in damages.

But James knew that he had to take the three to the group in the dorm. The problem, however, was dealing with Akebono who, by this point, was on his last nerves with calling him "Kuso Teitoku", or shitty admiral, in English.

"Girls, listen to me, please," he began. "I know…"

"You know what, you fucking bastard!?" The little purple-haired tsundre yelled at him. "This is your fault!"

James stood up. "Akebono, please. Don't…"

"Don't what me, you American shitty admir.."

James' nerves with her finally snapped.

_***SMACK!***_

He smacked the little destroyer the hardest he ever smacked anyone. As for the destroyer, little Akebono fell back, with a imprint of James' hand on her left cheek. She began to tear up, almost.

"OW!" she yelped. "What the…" before she could finish, she noticed that he was pissed.

"**DON'T YOU EVEN SAY A GODDAMN WORD!**"he began, grabbing her by the collar. "FOR THE LAST TWO DAMN YEARS, I'VE DEALT WITH YOU CALLING ME "SHITTY ADMIRAL", BUT NOW I AM SO SICK OF THAT TSUNDRE SHIT! IF YOU **EVER **CALL ME THAT AGAIN, I'LL SEND A REQUEST TO ADMIRAL HOBE TO HAVE YOUR SCRAWNY LITTLE ASS SCRAPPED! NOW SHUT YOUR MOUTH, BECAUSE I'M REALLLY NOT IN THE FUCKING MOOD! YOU GOT THAT, YOU LITTLE SLUT?" After that, he let her go, landing on her feet.

And that's when Akebono's emotional side finally changed.

"Uwahhhhhh!"she yelled as she stood there, bawling her eyes and heart out.

Embarrassed about going into rage mode, he hugged her. Although she wanted to punch him for that, Akebono, too caught up in crying, hugged back and just let it happen.

"Uhm…Admiral, sir," Ushio began. She had been shocked at James' action of smacking her older sister a few minutes ago. "Why…why did you come t…to us?"

He looked up. "Hm? Oh…girls, I need your help." He said.

Akebono was puzzled. "Why?" she asked.

He sighed. "Well…*sigh*…Tone-san told me the carrier's dorm is on fire…"

* * *

…**And there ya'll go. Whew..finally! **

**Sorry about the really long delay **_**(it's been a month? Sheesh!)**_

**I'm available for idea requests. Feel free to give me them in the comments.**

**Oh, and by the way, this is part one, so please be ready for whenever Part ll comes! **

**See ya'll! Aaron out :)**


	10. Inferno Part ll

**Yaaargh, me maties! It's me, Capt. Aron, and it's time for part ten.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10: I**_**nferno Part ll**_

* * *

**June 25****th****, 2023. 4:00 P.M, James' office:**

James read the message Admiral Hobe sent him, and wasn't disappointed with it at all. It said:

* * *

_**-**_**TO SPECIAL DIVISION COMMANDER JAMES KOICHI:**

_**Commander Kouichi,**_

_**By now, with the new group of shipgirls sent to your base, you should be able to begin training and start sortieing them against "Abyssal" forces.**_

_**I've also had some background research done on you, and it seems as if you have a passion for learning about the former Imperial Navy. Interesting…**_

_**Anyway, for the request list your girls made, I'll see what can be done. Also, I'm having more building supplies delivered. And, I'm sending another special shipgirl, who will be in charge of the café, and not to mention that she's a food supply ship.**_

_**In all, I'll be expecting a sortie report soon, so until then, take care.**_

_**P.S: Other than the special food ship, you're getting a battleship with her!**_

_**-Admiral Hobe.**_

* * *

After reading the email, he just sat at his computer for a few minutes, speechless.

"Okay…" he began. "…first, how the hell did he know that I was into studying old warships? Jeez, I'm glad I studied, or I would've ended up as a Walmart door greeter, like Dick Cheney almost did." He then pictured Cheney greeting customers, say nothing but "Go F*ck yourself!" to each of them.

But then, he realized he was getting a battleship.

"WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO! YES! I'm getting a mother*ckin' battleship…but I wonder who I'll be getting first!?" He yelled in excitement.

The dreaming of commanding a humanized battleship would be awesome, and it was about to happen.

However, for two minutes, he pictured himself groping the huge breasts of Fusou, going into near-moe mode with nose bleed and all.

But then, he realized Hobe was expecting a sortie report from him soon, so James needed to do something. "Come to think of it, I think I know how to train them…"

* * *

**Present Day…**

After promising both Akebono and Ushio that they'll come back to collect the bodies of Sazanami and Oboro, James and the two destroyers went back to the battleship's dorm and collected the girls that were there. But before leaving, there was one girl needing to be brought back to her senses.

"Yy…Yamato …are you okay? Can you hear me?" James said.

Comforting a mortified Yamato, however, wasn't easy though. Still mortified, she had been in shock since the explosion, having seen both Ise and Hyuuga crushed by the collapsed wall not far from her.

But at the sound of his voice, she slowly looked up at him.

"…Admiral?"

"Yes, Yamato. It's me."

And without warning, she slowly reached up and hugged him. The other girls just stood behind James, all shocked that Yamato even moved.

"Admiral…" the stricken battleship began, tearing _up."…thank_ goodness you're okay!" finishing before burying his face into her massive fuel tanks, a smile on her face.

That's when the faces of every girl in the room suddenly went red.

James' cries for Yamato to stop were muffled.

"Mmmmmmhh, mhh, MMMMMHHHHHH!" was all that was heard.

Everyone yelled at her. "DAMMIT, YOU'RE SUFFOCATING HIM!"

And with a little "Kya!", the super battleship freed James from her mighty melons.

"Guuhhh...guuuhh...Damn...*gulp*...I thought I would've been dead had you kept doing that for a few more seconds. Please don't..."

He paused.

"...Yamato, please listen, I need your help, and everyone else here."

"I…I…I can't…! Ise-senpai…Hyuuga-senpai…_(looks down at Ise's visible, blood-covered ribbon in the corpse's right hand)_…they're gone."

And the super-battleship started to cry. She had just lost the two closest friends she had spent time with at base, whether it was Ise challenging her to eat-off against Akagi, or helping Hyuuga with her daily bodybuilding sessions.

Trying not to look like a dick, James reached over and hugged her, a tear in his eye, as his flagship finally cried her heart out. The others also started to cry some as well, for they knew that their commander cared so much about them.

After that, he went over and hugged Kongou and Yamashiro, and both battlecruiser and dreadnought bawled uncontrollably in his chest from the loss of their sisters.

The other survivors James brought to the battleship's dorm, meanwhile, curiously wanted to know why he came back for them.

"Sir," Yuugumo spoke up first. "Why do you need our help?

"…Because… Tone-chan and Chikuma-chan both told me that the Carrier's Dorm is on fire, and that several of the carriers, and a few visiting destroyers and light cruisers were trapped…"

Everyone in the room was suddenly both shocked and horrified.

**_"No…no...no…NO! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!"_** Both Chitose and Chiyoda suddenly cried out, tears already forming, and the elder sister quickly and weakly consoling the younger one. "Akagi, Kaga, Taihou…"

A mix of cries, name listing and other worrying began, with a mixed bag of "Where is .., Is she..., "and other cries started coming, until…

"I hope all of the destroyers are okay!" Nagato suddenly cried out in the mist of it all, with a worried, but perverted look on her face.

(_A vision bubble appears with her being hugged by crying destroyers as she's pulling off a "Oh Sweet Jesus" face while they're not looking._)

Everyone in the room then suddenly looked at her with both disgusted and blank faces, while the destroyers cowered in a corner far away from her, whimpering.

"Jesus, do we need to register you as a pedophile, kuma!?" screamed Kuma

It was already known throughout the base that the proudest member of the so-called "Big Seven" would be addicted to destroyers, which now earned her the nickname "Nagamon…"

* * *

**"_Oh for God's sake, why am I even narrating this? I mean, seriously? Why am I reading about 'motorboating' and pedophilia towards little girls, I mean, really!?_**

(_The girls and James suddenly looks off towards the imaginary narrator, pissed…again….._)

"Mr. Freeman, can you please shut the hell up, and narrate the damn story!" James roared at the narrator.

_**"Ok fine! *Ahem* Now back to the story…"**_

* * *

"Nagato, you know I can't have you pulling off a Bill Clinton towards little girls. Now, please stop…" James said while facepalming with a disgusted look towards the base's pedophile.

Hamakaze yelled from the back, redfaced. "WE'RE NOT LITTLE, DAMMIT!"

James looked back with a blank face. "Says the one with breasts meant for a fucking grown woman!"

"Beach Wind" suddenly went red-hot in the face, without saying a word.

Nagato, however, looked down to the ground, red-faced and embarrassed for what she had done over the few months she had been at the base.

All that came out was a "Sorry" in Japanese.

"…Anyway, Yamato," he began. "Please keep Ise's old red bow. Holding on to it will keep her and Hyuuga's old memories with you, although they will lose everything they knew when we get them revived after we get them to the repair chambers."

Then another voice came from outside. "Sir?"

Everyone turned around towards the open door. Standing there was a pink and grey-haired Kazagumo, who happened to hear James say "repair chambers". She then saw Yuugumo, Makigumo and Naganami there, running inside bawling, glad that her two eldest sisters and her first little sister were okay.

After clearing her eyes, James asked her a question. "Kazagumo-chan…what did you want, sweetie?"

The third Yuugumo blushed with a pouty face. "Don't call me…oh!" she stopped mid-sentence.

"What? What is it?"

"You said repair chambers, right…?"

"Yeah, I did while talking to Yamato-senpai here. Why?"

"Well…"

"Well what!?" he snapped back.

"…the repair chambers…have been heavily damaged."

"Oh shit...well...we'll deal with that later! Kazagumo-chan, have you found any of your other sisters?" James questioned the little destroyer.

"Well...I've found Makinami, Onami, Kiyonami, Tamanami, Suzunami and Fujinami already. Still looking for the others, but seen lots of bodies along the way here."

"Well," he began again. "Can you list a few names of those bodies you recognized?"

"Hnn...I've recognized Mogami, Nachi, Nisshin, Ikazuchi, Hibiki, Chuyou, Taiyou, Arashi, Natsushio, Mutsu, Imuya, Goya, Iku, Zuikaku, Teruzuki, Suzutsuki, Niizuki, Kumano, Nagara, Hiyou, Tokitsukaze, about a few more destroyers and a few of the foreigners, such as Bismarck, Gneisenau, Littorio, Cailo Dullio, and Graf Zeppelin. Other than that, unrecognizable body parts."

"_JESUS ..." _James thought to himself, sorrowly."

"Hawawawa..." he heard the others whimper around him.

"Right, everyone follow me! Ones who can't, stay here. If anyone wants to tend to the injured here, you can!"

"YES SIR!"

And after the loud chant, James and his uninjured girls headed to stop the outta-control blaze not far from where they were.

"_Now, please let it be not too late to save whoever's in there..."_

* * *

**June 25th, 2023. 10:30 P.M, James' Bedroom:**

Having just gotten into bed, after finally getting the training schedule done and the sortieing orders ready the following day, James needed to get to sleep, for he knew tomorrow was going to be a long day.

But at the moment, he couldn't stop thinking about the battleship he was getting. He wondered if it was a ship from either the Kongou, Fusou, Ise, Nagato, or the giant Yamato-classes.

"Man, just thinking about it is making me wanna go for some ramen…"he said to himself.

And so, ol' James hopped outta bed, hungry for some instant ramen…

* * *

**"_Oh man, that does sound good!_ Hey,_ Mr. Kouichi!" _**

James stared at the narrator for the third time.

"Hey. What's up?" he said, not angry this time.

**"_Nothing...I've got my own ramen. Don't mind if I go and cook it?"_**

"Sure!"

**A few seconds later…**

_**"Okay, I'm back! Thanks!"**_

"No problem."

_***Ahem* "Back to the story…"**_

* * *

It took him a few minutes to get to the temporary kitchen he asked Akashi to erect in his building. As he was heading there, he heard a sound coming from his office. Surely, one of the girls wouldn't be messing with his paperwork.

Slowly opening the door, he noticed it was Maya, one of the new girls. And she was writing a note on a piece of printer paper on his desk. Although he realized that, he couldn't wonder about what she was writing.

However, as he tried to observe what she was writing on that paper, he bumped into the door he was peeking behind, and it let out a small "creeeaaakkkk…..."

"Admiral!?"

The heavy cruiser just sat in James' desk chair, stairing at him with a blank face.

"Uhhhhheh…heh…hheeeyyy! What are you doing in here, eh?" he asked her, curiously.

"Sss…sir! I was just leaving you a request for the base…"

"Request…oh, and nice P.J's by the way!" he complimented her pajamas, which consisted of a tank top and shorts.

She blushed. "Thanks…oh, sir!"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I was wondering if you can add a facility here on base premises that would allow us to get exercise and do some training to keep fit for combat."

"You mean you want a gym?" James said.

Maya nodded her head.

"And possibly a running track?"

She nodded again.

"And weightlifting equipment?"

Instead of nodding, James swore he saw stars sparkle in the heavy cruiser's eyes.

"…And I'll take that as a yes?"

She nodded again. As she did so, he made a quick decision. After all, there was no way for him and his girls to keep in shape, but would there be enough land on Sabo Island to even build a track. _"Okay…note to self," _James thought to himself. _"Bring fairy land surveyor out with me to find best possible spot here on the island for a running track." _

"Well…" he began. "I'll consider doing that. We don't want to get out of shape, now do…"

James was cut off by a happy Maya, who squeeled with excitement, before realizing he was staring at her like he tried to cover up a fart. She then blushed, saying "thank you" softly.

Before leaving the office, he spoke again. "Hey Maya, wanna grab a near-midnight snack?"

"Meh, sure. Whatcha thinkin' of?"

"Ramen, Maya. Ramen…"

Her eyes lit up again. "Oooh! Why didn't cha say so? I love ramen so much, I can eat about four packs altogether."

James looked at her with his eyes nearly bugging out of his eyesockets. "DAMN! You girls can eat."

"Heh," Maya began again. "You think the amount of food I consume is bad, wait till you see the amount the standard carriers consume. Just pray to God that you don't get Akagi transferred here."

"Why?"

"Because she can eat like a motherfucka!"

"Meaning I'll have to request more trainloads of bauxite?"

"Huhhh... Sadly, yes. Now come on, Kouichi-kun, let's eat! I'm hungry!"

And as the both of them walked down the corridor, James could't help but worry about what Maya said.

* * *

**And I'll finish this one short. **

**Also, I'll be taking OC shipgirls. Now remember this form:**

**Name:  
Ship Type:  
Class:  
Uniform:  
Nationality (German, Italian, or Japanese):  
History:  
Weapons:  
Features:  
Personality:  
Honorifics they use when addressing others:  
**

**So I'll see you all at the second OC Intermission. **


	11. OC Shipgirls Profile I

**Here's three OC Shipgirl Profiles, and they're three Yuugumo-Class destroyers. Keep in mind that these are examples using my OC Shipgirl Chart from Chapter 10:**

**OC Profiles no. 2:**

* * *

**Number 1:**

Name: Kazagumo ("Wind and Clouds")*****

Ship Type: Destroyer

Class: Yuugumo, 3rd ship.

Uniform: Same as sisters: Sleeveless violet dress, long-sleeved white dress shirt, light-blue bow, white pantyhose. Dark grey shoes with black laces and a white toespur.

Nationality: Japanese

Brief History: Namesake completed in 1942, sunk on June 8th, 1944 by USS Hake (SS-256) at the mouth of the Davao Gulf.

Equipment/Weapons: Three 12.7cm Twin Gun Mounts; Two dual-wield mounts, the other on her shoulder. Two torpedo mounts, one strapped to both legs. Large funnel-shaped backpack with small ship's mast, a 25mm triple autocannon mount attached to it.

Features: Long, light grey and pink hair, down to lower spine. (Almost similar to Naganami's hair color) Has the face of an idol, and her height is close to either Yuugumo or Hayashimo. Blue eyes.

Personality: Combo of both Makigumo and Naganami: Shy at times, but mostly energetic, and loud. Doesn't complain or whine like Makigumo does, sometimes silent like younger sister Hayashimo.

Likes: Sortieing with her sisters, peace and quiet, relaxing baths, and nature.

Dislikes: Escorting convoys, mines, torpedoes, being spooked by Abyssal submarines, and spicy food.

* * *

**Number 2:**

Name: Makinami ("Overflowing Waves")

Ship Type: Destroyer

Class: Yuugumo, 5th ship

Uniform: Same as above

Nationality: Japanese

Brief History: Namesake completed in August 1942, Sunk in the Battle of Cape St. George in November 1943.

Equipment/Weapons: Same as above, but with Twin 25mm Autocannons.

Features: Long, dark green hair with faded pink highlights, down to shoulder level. Green eyes. Small ahoge.

Personality: Energetic like Naganami, but shows some signs of timidness and scardiness like younger sister Takanami.

Likes: Noodles, being paired with sister Onami (As both were sunk in the same battle…),

Dislikes: Being shelled, seing other sisters getting hurt, escorting oil supply trains.

* * *

**Number 3:**

Name: Onami ("Billow (Big-Rough) Wave")

Ship Type: Destroyer

Class: Yuugumo, 7th ship

Uniform: Same as above.

Nationality: Japanese

History: Namesake completed in December 1942, blew up and sunk with all hands in the Battle off Cape St George in November 1943*.

Weapons: Same as Makinami

Features: Faded green hair with light-blue highlights, tied up into twin ponytails, covering a Rising Sun headband. Body well-built for an athlete. Hazel eyes.

Personality: Onami strives to be in shape, unlike her sisters. Usually seen eating lots of protein and asking James if she can join him during his morning workout sessions. Although she may seem like that, she has a big heart when it comes to being a sister.

Likes: Working out, running, eating protein (Steak, Chicken, pork, etc…), being with her sisters.

Dislikes: Laziness (except on certain days), gaining weight, torpedoes (*see history), and being called _"Kenkō Furīku"_ (Health Freak).

* * *

**-And that's my OC shipgirls. Would like to see what you can come up with. Note: must be Japanese, German or Italian, so no American's or Brits… for now. Cheers and wait for the third part of Inferno.**

**Bye!**

***Update: Kazagumo is now in the game, introduced in the Summer 2015 event, along with Teruzuki, Mizuho, Umikaze, Kawakaze, and new girls Libeccio and Hayasui.**


	12. Inferno Part III

**This might be a long one, so just bear with it. Starting from here, scenes of the girls assigned to individual groups will get attention in future chapters. And I already like the OC submissions so far, so expect them soon…**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

_**Chapter 12: Inferno Part III**_

* * *

**June 26th, 2023. Temporary Kitchen and Bar, 12:01 A.M:**

"…AAAAGGHH! Where's a bowl when you need one!?" Maya shouted. Minutes earlier, both she and James cooked the packs of ramen they wanted for a "midnight snack."

Problem was that they couldn't find any bowls, since most of them were shattered on the floor, the broken china having already been collected and thrown away. Earlier, someone or something had smashed all of the dishes, and no one had any leads.

"Ssshhhh! Everyone's asleep!" whispered James.

"Oh…sorry. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know…just find something…!"

"Find something? You're the commander, and you don't have more bowls!?"

"Oh come on, Maya. I've already known you since this afternoon, and you expect your Commander to be interested in fucking dishes?"

The heavy cruiser did nothing but pout.

James sighed. *huh* "I'm…sorry. Here, I have an idea."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Do you want to try to pour it into several cups instead?"

Maya stood silently, thinking.

"Meh… whatever. I guess that can work. Oh by the way, Kouichi-kun. Have you seen Shimakaze-chan anywhere?" She asked as James went to open the door of a temporary kitchen storage room.

"No, wh…"

"OU!"

**"_AGGH… HOLY SHIT!" _**he screamed out loud, surprised.

Inside the storage room was Shimakaze, sitting in a puddle of tears. Her little Rensouhou-chans were next to her, somehow crying as well.

"Shimakaze-chan! You've been hiding in here, instead of the new café? No wonder we couldn't find you!" Maya yelled at the little destroyer.

"Yes," she began, her eyes red from crying. "…and I wouldn't be in here had Ooyodo-chan not said anything about me being the only one getting their own room!" And with that, she almost began to cry again, until James began to pull her in to hug her.

"Hey…It's ok," he began. "I know how you feel. One of my buddies was to have been a brother, but his mother had a miscarriage.

The blonde looked at him, puzzled. Even the Rensouhou trio were displaying confused faces. "What's a miscarriage?"

He went almost red in the face than he ever had.

"Ugh…nothing you need to know."

"What's your point, then?"

"Well… Earlier, before I tried to go to bed, Isuzu-chan came to my room and asked me something. She wanted to know if I could get Amatsukaze brought to the base when the fourth group of arrivals comes. I hope telling you this would make you…"

"OUUUUUU! Thank you, thank you, thank you…!" the destroyer squeeled with excitement, squeezing James like a bear.

"*Ugh*… can't….breathe…***pahhhhhh….***" James tried to tell her, but passed out before he could finish.

"Ah crap. Now what?" Maya snorted.

"Ehh…let's just put him back in his bed. Go ahead and eat his ramen. I'll act like none of this ever happened, 'k?" Shimakaze replied.

"Fine."

But as both girls turned around, their faces went cold.

"Wh…what's going on…!?" a shocked, but sleepy Ooyodo questioned, eying a passed-out James in Shimakaze's arms.

Both heavy cruiser and destroyer murmured silently. "_Oh crap…"_

* * *

**Present-Day. August 25****th****, 2025. Aboard the **_**Izumo**_**:**

Around the same time Sabo Island exploded, Admiral Hobe and Captain Miroki were in Hobe's office on the _Izumo_, anchored in the shallow waters of the fleet anchorage off Kure.

The two men were talking about whether-or-not the base on the former dockyard should be given an extension to enhance the base's capacity.

The past two years have flown by since Hobe had placed James in charge, and many things have happened. By now, he was planning on sending Musashi with the next group of ship girls to Sabo Island as a late present for him being at that position. And he was nearing retirement, too.

"So…um…Admiral, do we really need to send a second super-battleship to Mr. Kouichi?" Miroki asked, while holding the plans of the base's extension."I mean, he already has to deal with carriers Akagi and Kaga, Yamato's already there, and plus, from what his rail yard foreman's told me to tell you, they're getting more damned shipments of bauxite and food every day, which they can't keep up with!"

Hobe just sat in his chair, tapping his pen on his desk. "Well, Miroki, what do you want me to do? I forgot that I gave the little bastard his position two years ago back in June, and he requested for additional firepower as a reward for staying there," he responded to the carrier's captain."The other reason is that by letting him command those girls against those…*ugh*…'Abyssals', their presence has decreased to now where we can…"

He was interrupted by a dull thud.

"What the…"

As he turned towards the island, Hobe's eyes weren't focused on the plume of black smoke: he instead, he observed a faint, metallic object flying towards the _Izumo._ He tried to get a good look at it, but it was flying so fast he couldn't make it out. But by the time it reached the ship, he realized what it was: a battleship's shell. "_OH SHIT, GET DOWN!"_ he screamed, tackling Miroki to the floor, just as the shell slammed into the ship.

The shell hit on the starboard side, punching through the carrier's armor, before detonating in the hangar repair bay. The blast demolished it, and several crew bunks underneath it, where most of the men there were instantly killed. Flying shrapnel severed electrical wiring, communications were cut, and the concussion shattered the glass windows on the bridge. It also penetrated through the engine room, the equipment peppering the interior of it like BB's, and puncturing the ship's double-bottom.

Luckily, the shell didn't hit the magazine, for if it did, pieces of the _Izumo _would be scattered across the anchorage.

A shard of glass had embedded itself lightly into Hobe's forehead, blood slowly oozing out. "Miroki, are you okay!?" The JMSDF Admiral asked the captain loudly.

"Sir, I'm fine, but… SHIT, HANG ON!" he yelled as both tumbled towards the office wall.

Heavily damaged, the ship began to list to port, where the hole in the double-bottom was at. Planes, helicopters, flight deck and hangar bay equipment, and men topside began to slide towards the water. The crew scrambled to right the ship by flooding the starboard ballast tanks, but the electrical power was cut off across the ship, and all hopes of saving the ship seemed lost as the list got worse, until it stopped at 45 degrees.

By sheer luck, the _Izumo_ happened to be anchored over a sandbar, thus preventing the ship from going down in 105' of water, which the sandbar was only at 35' deep.

Nether-the-less, the flagship was on her side on the sandbar. Several men were seen floating in the water, and several planes/helicopters that went overboard began to either sink of drift in the water. Rescue boats from nearby ships came to the stricken carrier's aid. 178 of the ship's crew were dead, and 220 others were injured.

Meanwhile, Hobe and Miroki both stood up almost on the side of the wall in the Admiral's office, trying to figure out how they could get out. "Miroki, do you think we could get through the ship 'Poseidon Adventure' style?"

The captain just stood there, confused. He didn't watch many American movies, and didn't know that it is a movie.

"Ehhhhhhhhhh….what's the 'Poseidon Adventure'?" Miroki asked, in Japanese.

Admiral Hobe facepalmed. *Sigh* "Just forget about it. Right now, I want to know not only if anyone's dead, but what that black puff of smoke from Sabo was…"

* * *

**At Sabo Island…**

James was leading the rescue operation in fighting the fire that was consuming the Carrier's dorm. From what Tone had told him, several carriers, two light cruisers and a group of destroyers were trapped, unable to clear the blocked exit that by now, had begun to catch on fire. When they got there, the structure was in flames, and the front entrance had begun to collapse into a pile of burning debris.

"…and that's about it!" The heavy cruiser finished, while yelling over the sound of the roaring flames. At the same time, the voice of carrier Kaga, the pride of James' fleet, could be heard yelling from inside.

"ADMIRAL," Kaga began. "ARE YOU OKAY!? PLEASE, GET US OUT! WE'RE ALL SCARED!"

James got as close as he could to a wall that hasn't ignited yet.

"OKAY KAGA-SAN!" he yelled back. "OTHER THAN YOU, WHO ELSE IS IN THERE!?"

She didn't hesitate. "AKAGI, HIRYU, TAIHOU, UNRYUU, AGANO, NOSHIRO, AKIZUKI, KISARAGI, YAYOI, MOCHIZUKI, OOSHIO, KASUMI, and AMAGIRI!"

"ANYBODY DEAD!?"

"SOURYUU, AKITSU MARU, AND MATSU!"

"_WOW, There's really not that many in there," _he thought to himself. "_No wonder Tone wanted everything she said to sound epic."_

"KAGA, I WANT SOME OF YOU TO TRY AND STOP THE FLAMES FROM SPREADING ANY WAY YA'LL CAN! UNDERSTOOD!?"

"YES SIR!"

He then looked over towards the girls. "Everyone, listen up," he began. "We are going to rescue those inside, but here's how we're gonna do it: Once group one: Yamashiro, Kuma, Kagerou and Shiranui finds any intact water source, group two: Kazagumo, Naganami, Tone, Chikuma and Haguro will hose the debris at the entrance down, while group three: me, Maya, Nagato, Yamato and Kongou will clear it. Once that's done, the four of us, along with group five: Isokaze, Akebono, Jun'you and Chiyoda will get them out. The ones I didn't call out will search the rest of the base for survivors. Understand?"

"_**YES SIR!**_"

"Now, I want one girl from each group to become group leader. Remember, keep in touch with me via your built-in earpieces. Make sure to gimme your group's status once in a while.

And so, things got underway quickly.

* * *

**Group One:**

As the meeting disbanded, Yamashiro, Kuma, Kagerou and Shiranui first headed for the baths, thinking that there would be water available in the building, if it was still standing.

"Ugggh….how much furtherrrr, Kumaa?" said light-cruiser groaned.

Shiranui just glanced at her. "We're almost there."

"Okay, Nuinui-chan…" But before Kuma could finish, the little destroyer suddenly produced a death-glance towards her. "Why you…" she said briefly, and was just about to grab her by the collar, when...

"Nui-chan, stop!"

She turned around to face an angry Kagerou, who seemed to be disappointed.

"What?"

"Don't get cocky with me, sis. I've seen you not only hurt the commander, but also the other girls here on base. You even hurt Yukikaze-chan, and didn't realize it!"

The destroyer suddenly began to fight back pain as the words "hurt…Yukikaze…didn't realize…" began to float around in her mind.

"HEY! Would you three shut the hell up?" Yamashiro barked at the trio. "We need to find the…" Her face went almost blank, as something caught her eyes.

"Yamashiro-chan? What is it?"

"Look."

All four girls just stood there with -_-' on their faces, for standing near the now-deserted café/kitchen was all three Kinesaki sisters, gathering whatever they can from the area: Kinesaki, her blue and white kimono torn in places, and left with several cuts and a black left eye, was sifting through the storage room for any veggies. Hayasaki, a good portion of her right hand blistered and blackened from fire, and her hair singed was having difficulty gathering whatever she was looking for. Shirasaki was tending to an injured Ikutagawa Maru, while gloomy about the darkened skies around her.

Yamashiro reached for her earpirce. "Admiral Kouichi, group one leader here, can you hear me?"

"_Copy, Yamashiro, I can hear you loud and clear. What's your status?"_

"We've found the Kinesaki sisters and Ikuta-chan…"

"I…HEARD THAT…DAMMIT!" Ikutagawa Maru weakly yelled at the battleship, who was surprised that the auxiliary cruiser even heard her from that far.

"…I mean Ikutagawa Maru. She's injured, and…" The battleship paused to stare at a nearby wrecked building. As she began to make out the ruined structure's details, her eyes began to widen.

"_Yamashiro?...Yamashiro, are you there?... dammit, answer me! What's wrong?"_

* * *

From his end, James could only hear static for a few seconds. Surely the first group couldn't have went silent, having just sent them off to do their task a few minutes earlier.

He sat down, in a horrified state, thinking of all that had happened up to this point: his selection by Admiral Hobe as commander of the base, all of the introductions between him and the girls, all of the emotional moments, all of the pain, and all of the fun times. But as was remembering all of that, the static cleared up.

"_Admiral, are you okay?"_

"Wha…Yamashiro, what happened? Are you girls alright?"

"_Yes, we're fine, but the bathhouse…"_

"What about the ba…"

That's when he assumed the worst.

"Oh God. Please don't tell me that it's destroyed."

He could hear her sigh, as she told him the answer: "_Yes, I'm afraid so, sir."_

"Well…Shit. Okay, try the docks then."

"_Will do, sir! Yamashiro, Group One out!" _But before the mic connection went off, he heard her mutter "ehh, _such misfortune…_", depressingly.

A few seconds later, he slammed his fist into the wall next to him, angry.

**"DAAAAAMMMMM IIIIIITTTTT!"**

* * *

**-And I'm sorry for the almost month-long delay. College has started back for me, like most of you fellow authors or guests. This means updates might come at random, so be patient. And I know I'm bad at transitions, so I'm sorry. Anyway, the first four submitted OCs make a short cameo:**

**-The Kinesaki Sisters:**

***Kinesaki**

***Hayasaki**

***Shirasaki**

**-Ikutagawa Maru**

**All four come courtesy of Gem Warrior, so I thank you for them. **

**Also, I'll be updating the OC Shipgirl form, to include their interaction with Commander James, and what they do. **

**-Next chapter, James gets to train the girls at last. So, I'll see you guys/gals in Chapter 13: Training Time.**

**Peace!**


	13. First Newscast

**And with any disaster story, comes news on the incident. This chapter focuses on the earliest report from the NHK, Japan's main news network. Chapter 14 will be "Training Time", so don't worry. **

**Also, expect some random newscasts, like this, throughout the story.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_**Chapter 13-First Newscast:**_

* * *

**NIPPON HOUSOU KYOUKAI:**

Wednesday, August 25th, 2025

* * *

***BREAKING NEWS***

**MASSIVE EXPLOSION IN KURE AREA, REPORTED TO ORIGINATE FROM SABO ISLAND**

-ShingetsuNews-

**Tokyo**\- A naval base in Kure Harbor, known as Sabo Island, exploded early this morning. The blast not only destroyed much of the base on the former volcano, but sent debris raining into the bay and into the nearby city itself.

Further details unknown. We will have more information as we receive further updates.

* * *

**KIM JONG-UN SUFFERS 3****RD**** HEART ATTACK, RECOVERING IN HOSPITAL.**

-Yonhap News Agency-

**Seoul**\- The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is reported to be in a Pyongyang hospital, due to experiencing his 3rd heart attack in a four month period.

The heart attack, like the last two, was reported to have resulted from his obesity problem. According to an unknown source, Un's weight was reported at nearly peaking 500 lbs, which currently makes him the heaviest leader of any country in this decade.

More info to follow later on.

* * *

**US NAVY AND ROYAL NAVY TO ENTER KANMUSU INITIATIVE**

-BBC-

**London**\- After weeks of talks with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and a two-year wait, USN Admiral Robert Foley announced that the US Navy would begin to start producing their own "shipgirls."

Around the same time, RN commander Richard Fowler announced that Queen Katherine herself has granted her royal support, confirming that the Royal Navy is also taking part in the Kanmusu Initiative, which was launched two years ago due to the sudden appearance of creatures known as "Abyssals."

The JMSDF had pioneered the program in mid-2023 by reincarnating WW2-era Imperial Japanese Navy warships, including the famed Yamato, as well as several foreign ships. Sources from our correspondent in Barrow-in-Furness stated that Queen Elizabeth II, until her death in early January last year, refused to reincarnate her country's proud ships of that era, even including Royal Oak, Hood, and the majestic Ark Royal.

It is expected that Germany, Italy, France and Russia will begin discussions into whether-or-not they want to join the initiative, although the Germans have built a battleship, a heavy cruiser and two destroyers, while Italy built two battleships and a destroyer. Many others are to follow.

* * *

**POPULAR BROWSER GAME TO GET ANIME ADAPTION**

Crunchyroll

**Loughlin**-The creators of the hit browser game "Tank Girls", Studio 8 Games announced Tuesday that Diomedea is to produce a 12-episode anime series based off of the game. Not much is known, but our correspondent will have more info later.

* * *

***Breaking***

**BRITISH ROCK ICON DEAD AT 77**

BBC 1

**London**\- Ozzy Osbourne, known in the Rock n' Roll world as the "Godfather of Heavy Metal", died in his sleep at his mansion west of Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire, at the age of 77.

Little is known at the time, so stay tuned for more info.

* * *

**And that's all I've got for some made-up news stories. Wanted them short and simple, and this is where another request is made:**

**I would like to see the wackiest made-up news articles that you can come up with. I'll be sure to credit ya!**

**See ya'll at 14: Training Time**


	14. Training Time

**I'm back and Happy New Year! And so, training finally begins…**

* * *

_**Chapter 14: Training Time**_

* * *

**Morning, June 26****th****, 2023. 7:00 A.M:**

* * *

At Sabo Island, the entire naval base was quiet. So quiet, you can actually hear birds chirping at that time. No one was out and about, even the fairies, who had been hard at work, were in their newly-built miniature apartments (Which, had James seen by this point, would've compared them to doll-houses), fast asleep.

However, the stillness of the morning was broken as a whimpy horn echoed throughout the area. One that could've woken up everyone at base up.

A small, white motor-powered railcar, known as a "speeder", came putt-putting into the railyard, parking near the locomotive shed on a sidetrack. With the engine off, Houji Shintou, the shed foreman, stepped out of the small speeder first.

The former middle-aged railway enthusiast-now railway worker mumbled to himself as he reached for his keys to unlock the door to the main office in front of him. "Damn keys…now where did I put them?"

As he was busy, Takuya Fujima and Mirakasa Ouka, the mechanics, stepped out, along with the office receptionist and manager, Aki Haramo. All three walked over to 'Shin', as they called Houji, who had finally found the right key.

"Well, 'bout time you got it!" snickered Ouka.

The old man, instead of replying harshly, simply gave her his own death stare, which they called "The Houji Stare".

"Okay…okay…chill! I was just playing!"

He smirked. "Figured…"

"Oh! Hey, Takuya, remind me to email that order for the new engine parts later."

"Okay. I've got'cha covered!"

"HEY! Will you two come on!" an impatient Mirakasa finally snapped. "I've got two cylinder pistons that need replacing and I ain't gonna..."

"**OH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! EVERYONE SHUT UP!"**

Takuya, Mirakasa, and Aki all went silent, fearing a possible Houji Stare, daring not to say anything else that would piss the old man off any further.

"Maybe," he began. "If you stooges would wait patiently, then I could get the door unlocked and ope…"

*CLICK*

"Oh…guess I spoke too soon. Heh, heh! Sorry about that, gang."

Nobody replied, except for the occasional smile and thumbs-up.

"Well, okay then. Let's go in!"

"Yes Sir!" everyone replied as they headed inside the depot office.

And after the door closed, everything was silent again…

* * *

**James' Room, 7:05 A.M:**

* * *

*ZZZZZzzzzz…

ZZZZZzzzzz…

ZZZ…"Ahhnn…Wht the hll hppned last night?"

James had just woken up, not realizing that he had passed out from Shimakaze asphyxiating him the previous night. One minute, he and Maya were making ramen, trying to find some cups to put it in. The next, he almost got his spine snapped in half by a bear-like hug from the destroyer, and now, he felt like shit.

"Man…I think Shimakaze nearly had me suffocated to damn death. Shit, I could've told Mayaand the others about it being a secret, had "Speedy" not tried to kill me. Ugh…need to think about what I say before I say it."

He then laid back down, staring at the ceiling.

"Heh…It's not like I'm training them today…"

O_O!

"**OH CRAP! THEY'RE TRAINING TODAYY!"**

In shock, James began to get up out of the bed, nearly swearing multiple times under his own breath. He put on a pair of jogging pants, a white tank-top, and a camouflage headband, with high-heel socks and a pair of running shoes.

And just as he is about to open his bedroom door, he looks at his alarm clock, and goes blank-faced. "Its…only 7:10?" he asked himself. "They don't usually get up until 8:00, so I'll see what I can find in the kitchen."

Closing the door behind him, he rubbed his eyes, when…

*Bzzt* *Bzzt* *Bzzt*

…his phone started buzzing. Picking it up, it said: JUN'ICHI SAORU, in big bold letters.

"Wellll….Shit."

He answers the phone.

"Hello?"

"_WAAASSSSUUUUUPPPPP!"_

-_-' *sigh*

"Hey, Jun'ichi….."

"_So…, how's everything going so far?"_

"Fine, and you?"

"_Great, but right now, we've been informed that the Ashigara is to be put in reserve until 'further notice', and I'm being put on leave for a while, so I can come see ya whenever!"_

"Awesome! I can't wait!"

There was a pause. _"However, there's one thing: Hobe contacted and asked me if I wanted to be a part of a new operation, something that went by the codename of 'RELIC'"_

James paused for a moment.

"Wait, what's 'RELIC'?"

"_RELIC? Hobe briefed me in secret on what it is: basically, it's the opposite of retrieving a piece of metal from a sunken ship, but it involves scanning either preserved parts of a scrapped ship, such as a bell, hull plates, etc. Also, the op scans any preserved ship that's a museum."_

James thought for a second.

"You do realize that there's no preserved warships here in Japan except the _Mikasa_, right?"

"_Uh…duh! You don't think I'd remember that?"_

James doesn't answer as he looks at the time on his phone. It read 7:30. He didn't realize the conversation had taken pretty long.

"Jun'ichi, I've gotta go, bud! I'm training the girls for combat today, so I'm gettin' them up about twenty-five minutes early."

"_Ooh…nice! Any idea of when you'll first sortie them?"_

"Dunno? Depends on how well they do in training first. I'll let you know how the training sessions go later on tonight, okay?"

"_Sure, James. Hope everything goes well, so see ya bro!"_

"See ya too, Jun'ichi!"

James tapped the "End Call" button, finishing with a *Beep*

"Hahh…Thank God! Now let's see if Hobe posts him here on the island as second-in-command. Now to go wake the girls…"

Putting his phone in his pocket, he walked over to his office door, opening it. Walking in and closing the door behind him, James walked over to his desk, where an intercom microphone sat bolted onto the cherry-oak wood desk. To the mic's left was a small lamp (which James bought while in Kure town with the girls), and to its right, a photo of a younger James, his parents and his late sister.

To the left of the desk was a table with his own personal Dell laptop, the back of it covered in the logos of his favorite rock bands: Metallica, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Accept, Scorpions, AC/DC, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, and etc. Beside his computer was a guitar pick given to him and signed by Dave Mustaine himself. To the left of the desk was a desktop computer, meant for naval use. Both sides of the Falcon Northwest "Aloha" featured the symbols of James' unit.

Walking to his desk, he pulled out his iPhone 11s, switched to his music, selected and paused Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", and switched the base intercom mic on.

He grinned, with some sort-of an evil smile. James knew that today would be very amusing, as began to tap the pause button to play. "Heh, heh, heh…Let's see how this will work as a training-day wake-up call!", he whispered to himself.

*Tap*

* * *

**In the dorms…**

* * *

The girls were all sleeping together in one room (except Akashi, who fell asleep while working on something in her workshop), and by this time, were sprawled all cross the room and laying in different positions. Well…except Junyou, who was completely naked and had nothing but a blanket covering her up.

All of a sudden, the intercom blared the opening instrumental of Eye of the Tiger, scaring the hell out of the girls, who all either screamed or yelped by the sudden outburst from the comms. "Dmmit!" Murakumo yelped groggily. "He decides to fuck with us by doing this? Maya-chan, will you please remind me later to- *ahn*- punch him in the face later?"

Before the lyrics to the song could come on, James came on: _"IS THIS THING ON? TESTING, 1-2-3? OH, OK. *ahem* __**GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOORNINGGGGGG SAABOOO ISLAAAAAND!**__ I HOPE YOU GIRLS ARE AWAKE BY NOW!" _

"Grrr, kuma! We're all awake now, kumaa!" Kuma yelled out in anger.

"_OKAY, GEEZ! I'M JUST DOING THIS TODAY FOR ONE REASON: IT'S TRAINING DAY!"_

"Oooh….finally! We get to show him our guns and abilities!" Maya squeeled with delight. "He's gonna like my AA abilities and my main firepower!"

"_ANYWAY… GO GET BREAKFAST FROM THE KITCHEN, BE QUICK AND MEET ME BY THE BEACH. COMMANDER KOUICHI OUT…"_

Fubuki, who was trying to begin getting ready, turned around to face Maya. "Um…I think the commander cut that short, because of your comment."

"Meh, who cares, let's just get ready, get breakfast and head to the beach!"

* * *

**30 Minutes Later…**

* * *

James sat in his lawnchair, perched in the bright yellow-orange sands of the beach near the base.

He had somehow fallen back asleep, and was just about to start snoring, when the weight of him laying forwards caused the chair and him to fall forwards, waking James up with the feeling of having sand in his face.

"Pphheehh! *spit* Agh…for Christ's sake, can I at least take a nap without anything happening!?" he yelled out loud, angrily. He looked down at his watch. "8:00." He says, calmly. "They should be here by…"

Suddenly, James heard footsteps coming from the direction of the locomotive shed. Instead of the girls, it was Takuya.

"So, you're commander Kouichi?" he began. "I've never got to introduce myself. I'm Takuya Fujima, one of two mechanics for your railway. At your service!" he finished with a salute.

James paused for a second, then saluted him back. "Wait, are you one of the mechanics from the rail yard shop up by the base?"

"Yes, I…"

"**ADMIRAL! WE'RE HERE!"**

"Oh…great. Well, could we try this another time? Tell ya what Fujima; I'll come down to the shed and introduce myself to everyone sometime later, okay?"

"Uhh…sure. Also, I'm gonna give you a heads-up for when you come by: don't piss off the foreman, or else, okay?"

James just stood there, confused. "Uhh…okay?"

"Alrighty then, I'll see you later sir." Finishing up with a salute, James done the same thing back, and Fujima walked back towards the shed.

From there on, he knew that their first meeting would end up either good or bad. "_What's the worst that could happen: I drop a cylinder head on the foreman's foot?" _James thought to himself as the girls finally run up to him.

"Sir! All shipgirls present and accounted for!" Asashio said, speaking like a military officer, followed up with the small fleet saluting their commander.

Now that all of the girls were present, with Akashi there in case of anyone getting injured, James decided to begin:

"Alright, ladies, listen up;" he began. "Now that I have a decent-sized fleet, I thought it would be best to see if you girls know how to shoot your guns, maneuver or…whatever you ship girls do." He first pointed over to the docks, and then a training course and firing range he had quickly and half-assedly set up before they arrived.

"Okay, so first, we're gonna start with something really easy." He said as he strapped a watch on to his wrist. Tapping a button on its side, a light-blue hologram screen ejected from the watch body, where he then scrolled to a folder marked 'Training'. After touching the word, it displayed several types of training procedures, listed from 'basic maneuvers' to 'repairing injuries in battle'. Looking through the list, he tapped on the maneuvers step.

"Here we go…okay. Now your first lesson is learning the most easy thing ever: movement."

"…um sir? Do we really need to know how to move, nanodesu?" Inazuma shyly asked.

"Ou! Do you mean like this?" Shimakaze blurted out, moving side-to-side really fast.

"Okay, first: Yes, Inazuma, you girls need to, due to command's orders. And second: **SHIMAKAZE, HOW IN THE HOLY FUCK ARE YOU MOVING THAT DAMN FAST!?**" James roared at the blonde-headed speed-freak.

"Sir," Ooyodo began to explain. "The main reason why Shimakaze-chan here is this fast, is because back in her ship incarnation, the IJN made her the testbed for a new type of turbine, capable of producing more horsepower and speed. This made her the fastest destroyer in the navy at the time."

"Yeah…but that doesn't explain why she's all hyped-up."

o_o "Ohh…yeah…about that…" she went along, biting her lip.

"What she's trying to say is that 'Speedy' here got one of your…um…Monster energy drinks." Murakumo helped explain for the light cruiser.

"…And not to mention her afterimages are getting sloppy too, poi." Yuudachi noted, as the afterimages of Shimakaze went from anime, MMD, game art, to various anime/manga character cosplays.

Instead of barking back, James just sighed and rubbed his eyes slowly. "Ahhhh….. Okay, no one touches my stuff. Got it?"

"Yes sir…." Everyone replied back, lazily.

"Alright, do as I say." James ordered. "Step forward." And everyone did.

"Okayy…now step backwards." Everyone stepped back.

"Good. Now…"

* * *

**An Hour Later….**

* * *

"…And that wraps up the easy things. Now, let's start on practicing weapon skills."

After having the girls spend an entire hour maneuvering out-and-about out in the shallow waters off the island, James decided that he wanted to see the girls practice what he loves the most: weapons.

"Sir," Samidare began. "I don't think that will be necessary, because we were given weapon training back at the development facility before being sent here."

Suddenly, James went blank in the face.

…

"You're lying."

"Nope."

"You're lying."

"No sir, I am not."

"You're..."

The other girls had it. "**OH WILL YOU SHUUUUTTT UUUUPPPPPP!" **

Suddenly, he went red in the face and had fire in his eyes.

All of the girls knew what was coming. "Uh-oh…."

He was livid over the fact that he'd spent a half-hour setting the shooting range up for the girls.

_"**SO WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS BEFORE!?" **_He screamed.

Instead, the girls simply scratched their heads, acting like they didn't know anything. Only Isuzu had the guts to answer his question.

"Well…" She began. "…We just wanted to do everything again, but this time, following your orders, sir."

"Oh… I didn't know. Sorry for yelling at you all." He replied back, rubbing the back of his head and calming down all of a sudden.

"Eh, it's okay. We ship girls get angry sometimes too, ya' know?" Jun'you exclamined.

"Yeah, like how angry Ooyodo-chan here got mad at me and Shimakaze last night for the latter nearly…" Maya began, but Ooyodo looked over at both destroyer and heavy cruiser with an angry look, without even saying a word. Both went dull-faced, for they remembered the harsh words she let them have the previous night.

"Uhh…" Shimakaze said, going red in the face.

"Wait a minute! So that's why I passed out last night! Goddammit Shimakaze!"

"Ooouuuuu…!" And with that, said destroyer and her Rensouhou trio ran off to hide once again. Everyone just stood there, already having seen the same thing happen the previous day.

"Heeyy! Come back! Ahh…nevermind." James tried to apologize, but with the destroyer gone, he couldn't. The girls just looked at him as if he was talking to himself.

"Sir, who are you talking to?" they asked.

"Just forget it."

"OK!" They all agreed, smiling.

"Alright. Let's see if your training will pay off tomorrow!" he shouted.

The girls were puzzled. "Sir, what do you mean by tomorrow, kuma?" Kuma asked.

"Tomorrow…I'm sending several of you on your first sortie."

* * *

**Hi everyone! Did ya'll miss me? I'm so, so sorry for the really-long delay. These last few months have been tough for me, especially the fact that I got fired from my job at Wendy's two days after Christmas. That really sucked. **

**As of this moment, I'm still looking for a job, but I'd hardly doubt anyone would hire someone with a bad temper. **

**Also, to make it up, I'm gonna give you all the names for the upcoming chapters:**

* * *

**-First Sortie**

**-New Arrivals III**

**-Stop Playing With Trains!**

**-Severed**

**-Intermission III**

…**and…**

**-Jun'ichi's Visit**

* * *

** So I hope you guys and gals can forgive me for the 4-5 month delay.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and be ready for Chapter 15! **

**-Aron**


	15. Intermission 25: OC Form

**Aron here with a quick update: Instead of going to the OC form in Chapter 10, I'm making this ****Official**** enhanced OC form page:**

**Name:**

**Class:**

**Ship Type:**

**Nationality (Japanese, American, British, Canadian, German, French, Italian, Russian):**

**History:**

**Past Fate:**

**Appearance:**

**Features (Hairstyle &amp; Color, Eye Color):**

**Weapons:**

**Personality:**

**Behavior around other girls:**

**Behavior towards/around James:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**and... Nicknames:**

**Alright, so there ya'll go. Feel free to keep the submissions a-comin'!**

**See ya'll in Chapter 15: First Sortie!**


	16. First Sortie (Emergency)

**A/N: After a long, long, long, long time, I'm Back!**

* * *

_**Chapter 15: First Sortie (Emergency)**_

* * *

**Nighttime, June 26****th****, 2023. 11:30 P.M:**

Supper and TV time had passed by really fast after James had the girls undergo training through most of the day. That's until they told him that they underwent combat training before being dispatched to Sabo Island, which pissed him off.

After the day's events were over, he ate leftovers, showered, and watched some TV. Following that, he went to bed, and for a very important reason.

"_Ugh…I get to send them to sortie tomorrow. And I don't even know what they are tasked to do during it. But…the question is what task __should__ I give them?" _he thought to himself.

Listening to Megadeth's "_Foreclosure of a Dream_", he laid on his back, staring at the ceiling, thinking of a task. He could possibly send them to escort a civilian ship, go on a supply expedition, or battle enemy Abyssals. But, who knows.

Events, from first stepping foot on the island to today, had gone by so fast. One day, he was assigned on board an active warship. The next, he's commanding a humanized fleet. How much weirder can it get?

And it did get weirder.

As he began to doze off, he heard a *POOF*, followed by a small puff of smoke. *Cough* *cough*, "What the…"

The smoke cleared, a small fairy standing before him on his stomach. The odd thing was that the fairy had a tiny messenger's hat and a tiny satchel bag.

Standing before him, the messenger fairy pulled out what appeared to be a tiny envelope. Then, it suddenly grew to the size of a regular envelope, landing flat on the bedsheet. And like that, the fairy disappeared in a sudden puff of smoke, causing James to cough once again.

*Cough*… "Was that a messenger?" He asked himself before he looked at the envelope. "Oh well, wonder what this…" He cuts short as he reads what the envelope says:

**URGENT: SOS CALL **

"…is." He finally finished, as he opened the envelope, pulling a small letter. It read:

* * *

**While I was in the control room, a distress call came on the air suddenly. A ship has been under watch from two Abyssal destroyers, and are requesting assistance. I've tripped the alarm, which should reach your room by about…**

* * *

And like the letter said, on cue, a loud *WEE-OOUGH!* *WEE-OOUGH!* blared through the hallway outside his room.

"BWAHH-HAHA-HAA!" James yelped, pulling off a 'Hank Hill' as the sudden alarm made him lurch off of the bed and into the carpet floor of his room. After coming to a rest, the letter gently floated down and landed on his face, with the word '**now**' in his right eye. "Alright… to the radio room!"

After getting dressed in his PJs and admiral's cap, he left for the command building, wanting to know the situation. Exiting his room, he found the hallway floor covered with the girls' pajamas, strewn all about. "Don't tell me they were in a rush…?" James sighed, putting his fingers to his eyes. As he began to head down the hallway, a hologram of Ooyodo suddenly appeared on his watch.

"Sir? Are you there?"

"Yes. Other than the sudden 'scare-alarm', I'm here."

The 'Ooyodo-gram' rubbed the back of her head. "Ehh…sorry about that…never mind! The girls are already at the docks. I'm in the comms station, waiting. Ooyodo out."

The hologram shut off, and the watch went back to normal mode.

"Mmmnn…I wanted to sleep…" James muttered, sorrowly, as he proceeded down the hall, and opened the door to exit the building.

The recently-installed lights outside lit up the park as he walked to the command building. Walking past one light, he noticed that it used an LED bulb instead of regular lightbulbs. "_Hmn…saving power is good, I guess?"_ he thought to himself. _"Maybe I'll ask the head fairy if they'll install LED's throughout the base." _

As he walked through the small park in the middle, he noticed that the foundations for several future buildings were laid, ready for construction to commence. The one that stuck out the most was the foundations for what would be the café, run by one of the ship girls who would be coming in a few days' time.

As he finally arrived at his destination, James noticed something very odd about the appearance of the building. What used to be a tiny shack was once a few days before was now what looked like a radio station, complete with a tower in red and white stripes, and a red beacon flashed on-and-off every three seconds on top.

"_Weird…Since when does things get finished or upgraded so fast?_" He asked himself as he began to reach for the door.

Suddenly the door opened up, and out stood Ooyodo in her pajamas. But this time, she had a white tank-top on and, noticeably, her nipples were sticking through.

This really didn't matter, for there was a really important situation going on.

Before he could do anything, she reached out without hesitating, and grabbed his right arm.

"What the….?"

"Sir, come inside!"

She yanked him right inside, and slammed the door with a *THUD!*

* * *

**Inside…**

"Eh…hehe…sorry about that sir!"

"For what? Yanking me through the doorway like we're in a fucking cartoon!?"

At the mention of the word "cartoon", Ooyodo put on a curious look on her face. "Really? We're in a cartoon?"

He simply put his right pointing and middle-fingers to rub his eyes the moment she said that. "Ah…. Wow. There's so much more catching up you girls need…"

A few moments after getting pulled inside the building, James and Ooyodo were at the door separating the room they're in, and the main radio room.

"So, what's so special about the communications center?"

"Well…take a look for yourself," Ooyodo said, pressing a button to the right of the door.

On cue, the door in front of them opened up, revealing the main room, which looked like the control room from Black Ops 3, except that it didn't have the weapon racks or personnel quarters. Holographic screens covered the walls and panels, with an island panel displaying a hologram, several beacon sensors, and an array of wires and junction boxes.

"Holy…Call-of-Duty…"

"Well…what do you think?"

"It's freaking amazing! It's just like the command center in Black Ops 3, but better."

Ooyodo smiled, then sighed. "Ahh…. enough of admiring the technology, time to focus on the…"

She cut her sentence short, as she watched James use a holographic board to draw a derp-faced version of himself with a wife beater on him. After a few seconds, he looked up.

***SMACK*** "Pay attention!" She yelled out, grabbing a nearby folder and smacking James upside the head with said folder. "Now, here's the situation: we just received a distress call from a cargo ship named the _Hochikai-Maru._"

"Okay, so what's the problem?"

"The captain reported that the ship is being hounded by a small Abyssal force of destroyers, and that the engines are malfunctioning. They are also requesting to be towed into Kure Harbor."

James thought for a second, thinking of who he should deploy. Since Ooyodo did mention a "small force", he decided to send out a light cruiser and four destroyers. Question is, who?

"Okay. Ooyodo, listen up," he began. "I want Isuzu, Yuudachi, Samidare, Inazuma and Murakumo to go. Also, have Fubuki and Asashio on standby at the harbor mouth for when the ship gets brought back to Kure. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Reaching to the holographic screen, the light-cruiser tapped a file designated 'sortieing list'. Immediately, the screen loaded what looked like several slots, meant for the girls. With her magic, Ooyodo simply dragged the names of the first five mentioned into the slots.

In a nearby enclosed dock ramp, the girls chosen to go stand side-by-side. In front of them is a launch system like that off an aircraft carrier. After stepping onto the launching mechanisms, a programmed voice spoke:

**ARMING SEQUENCE ACTIVATED**

As soon as the voice silenced, small doors on the ground behind each girl opened, revealing their equipment. For each girl, the equipment backpack and weaponry rose up from the doorway, attaching to their backs. With weapons at-the-ready, the voice spoke again:

**ARMING COMPLETE. AWAITING LAUNCH ORDER**

And with the computerized voice finishing up, the order was given:

"ALL SHIPGIRLS, LAUNCH!"

At the order, the pistons in the launching system propelled the launch racks forward, sending the girls on their way.

Watching a holographical map, James stared at the screen, concerned. "Now all we need is a good rescue, and a lot of luck…"

Back at the dock, the doors open, allowing Isuzu and the four destroyers into the bay, speeding towards the _Hochikai Maru_'s last reported position: five miles off the entrance to Kure Harbor.

* * *

**At the **_**Hochikai Maru**_**'s reported position****...**

"Okay, so where the hell is this ship at?" Murakumo asked in a fussy tone.

After sailing the two miles between the base and the harbor mouth, the girls had reached what was the freighter's last-reported position.

"I…um…don't know, Murakumo-chan," Samidare answered back, worriedly. "It's supposed to…um…be in this area."

Yuudachi didn't need to ask a question, for she was pointing at something.

"Hey, everyone! Look, poi!"

Isuzu was already tired of Yuudachi's 'poi-a-thon' all the way from base.

"Yuudachi! What the heck is…"

Everyone turned, revealing to their horror, what seemed to be four black, deformed torpedoes with mouths and guns. Two Ro-class and two I-class destroyers were shooting at the freighter, whose stern was on fire, while men on deck were struggling to put the fire out.

"…it now?!"

The light cruiser stared at the hapless vessel.

"Listen!" Isuzu piped up again. "Yuudachi and Samidare, you two focus on the rear Ro. Murakumo and Inazuma, each of you take out the two I's on each side of the ship. I'll take out the Ro up front. Understood?"

"ROGER!"

"Everyone, concentrate your fire on all enemy destroyers!"

With that order, every gun was aimed carefully, as all four destroyers were in a diamond-formation surrounding the freighter. This meant that the girls had to aim over the freighter to nail a I-class. One wrong move, and the mission would result in failure.

"On my mark…"

Isuzu raised her guns…

"FIRE!"

**BOOM!**

**BANG!**

**BOOM!**

At once, all guns fired. A few seconds later, the shells started hitting their intended targets: the leading Ro disappeared in a ball of flame and smoke, the rear Ro broke in half as if hit by a heavy downward wind. The two I-class both exploded in a loud thunderclap, vanishing without a trace.

On board the _Hochikai Maru_, the crewmen couldn't believe what they have seen. One minute, they were under attack, and were almost to the point of sinking. The next, young females with weird objects on them sink those attacking the crew. They were safe.

The captain himself was speechless. "I…I…I don't believe this! How are they able to stand on water!?"

"**HEY! WE HEARD THAT!"**, the girls all screamed back, angered that the captain didn't know about them.

"And why are you confused, poi?"

The captain got dumbfounded. "Poi? What the hell is that?"

Yuudachi started to whimper like a dog, while Samidare defended her sister's catchphrase. "It's…how she says the word 'like', sir. And…we're known as 'Kanmusu'. We were designed to combat the threat that was attacking you."

"Well that makes sense now." The captain understood. "We're badly damaged, so we need assistance getting back to Kure for repairs."

The girls all nodded. "Alright!" With that, little guns fired towing cables towards the stricken freighter.

"Alright men, secure the lines! We're being towed home!"

With the lines secured a few minutes later, the towing began back to Kure Harbor.

* * *

**2 Hours Later…**

At the mouth of the bay, both Fubuki and Asashio had been waiting for any sign of their comrades, and whether they were successful or not. For the previous hour, Asashio thought she could spend some time improving her sailing, but quit after Fubuki caught sight of several familiar figures in the distance.

"Well," Asashio started. "I guess you can radio to the commander that the rescue mission was a success, Fubuki-chan!"

Said destroyer began to rub her head, agreeing with Asashio. "Heh…heh..sure!"

"Fubuki to Commander! Come in!"

A few seconds passed before James replied back.

"_Commander Kouichi to Fubuki. Do you have any contact with the ship and the girls?"_

"Not yet, but I'll…"

Suddenly, she gets cut off by a familiar incoming voice:

"FUBUKI-CHANNNN, POOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII!"

She went cheer-faced.

…

"_Hello?"_

"Oh, yes. Commander, that was…Yuudachi. They did it!"

And all that can be heard from the other end of the radio was a loud "WOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

**-Finally. It's done. After several months, I got the motivation to soldier-on and off with the story. Sorry for being gone from this, and thank you to my 28 followers for staying with me.**

**Chapter 16 will feature new shipgirls, including a familiar repairship…**

**Peace!**


	17. New Arrivals III

**A/N: I've missed the 1-year anniversary since I first published Chapter 1. Anyway, time to start answering reviews from now on:**

**-**Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Miller: **Thanks Jonathan, for the motivation! I really need more inspiration, critique and ideas from readers/followers like you.**

**And now to new kanmusu…**

* * *

_**Chapter 16: New Arrivals III**_

* * *

**Sabo-Island Naval Base, 2:40 A.M (June 27****th****, 2023)…**

It had been several hours since the emergency battle/rescue of the freighter _Hochikai-Maru_ from four Abyssal destroyers a few miles off Kure.

After arriving back, the girls took a second bath and, with the help of the others, managed to pester James into watching an all-night marathon of old 80's Super Sentai.

However, ten minutes into the second episode that everyone fell asleep…except James.

He couldn't fall asleep due to the fact that he had Murakumo's head snuggly against his left shoulder, and probably wondered if everyone else was having trouble because of Shimakaze's loud snoring.

But it wasn't that.

Earlier, while monitoring progress of the emergency sortie, a notification popped up on his cell phone, informing him that the 3rd train of new shipgirls would be arriving at about 9:00 AM. He kept thinking to himself: "_Is it Houshou, Mamiya, Irako and…_". He paused for a moment, thinking of other ships Admiral Hobe had referred to. "_Meh…forget it. I'll go to sleep…"_ With that, he fell asleep on the couch, the girls fast asleep around him.

While asleep, he kept thinking of what the _Hochikai-Maru's _captain had told him earlier…

* * *

**Kure Harbor, 2-hours ago…**

After several hours of towing the damaged freighter _Hochikai-Maru_, the escorting kanmusu had finally gotten the ship into a dock at Kure. Luckily, no one on the ship was killed, but several crewmen were seriously injured due to the Abyssal attack.

In the meantime, James and Ooyodo both took the train to the dockyard, and, after arriving where the freighter was at, they were awed at the amount of damage the ship had took in the attack: the rear quarterdeck had taken a shell hit, decking was splintered and charred in places, and he could only imagine what the inside could've looked like…

"Geez," he began to comment. "Now I'm glad we answered that distress call."

"No kidding." Ooyodo exclaimed. "I'm glad I managed to wake your tired-ass up!"

"HEY! I'm already fuckin' tired as it is right now, Yodo, so stop!"

The light-cruiser raised both of her hands. "Whoa, we've got a bad-ass over here!"

"Why I oughta…"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Ooyodo stopped and nodded her head towards _Hochikai's _captain, Tanaka Hoshibe, who just stood there, looking at the two as if they were complete idiots. James looked up too, giving Tanaka an almost-embarrassed look.

"Oh…right. Yeah…Hi."

The captain stood there, stone-faced. "I really don't know how the hell I should even react to that…" He stopped short, changing subject.

"So, you're commander Kouichi, I presume?"

"Yeah. And this beautiful lady next to me is one of my kanmusu, light-cruiser Ooyodo."

Ooyodo blushed at the word "beautiful".

"Well, I personally want to thank both of you for answering my mayday call. Had ya'll answered minutes later, we would have been sending out an S.O.S for rescuing me and my crew."

James scratched the back of his head. "No biggie. Besides, this was their first sortie anyway."

"Really? You don't say…"

A third voice replied.

"He did say…"

James recognized the voice that wasn't Tanaka's, and couldn't help but turn around and greet Admiral Hobe, who was making an unexpected appearance at the docks. Upon seeing him, both the 22 year-old and Ooyodo threw a salute up.

"Attention!"

"At ease, both of you." Hobe replied, for he wasn't worrying about being saluted to.

"Okay 'yodo, you heard him." Both light cruiser and commander put their salutes aside.

Hobe eyed the _Hochikai_ for a moment, inspecting the damage. Of all the ships he'd seen damaged in the 35 years he had been in the navy, the freighter itself was the least damaged.

He then smirked. "Well for one thing, those Abyssals didn't inflict much damage. Repairs should at-least take about two weeks, then she'll be ready to go."

"Yeah," Tanaka responded back. "Well at least my ship's saved. We were carrying a secret cargo from Yokosuka to Kure, to deliver by rail to Sabo Island tomorrow morning." He then turned to James. "Mr. Kouichi, had your fleet not responded to our S.O.S, your secret delivery would be at the bottom of the sea right now."

Although he took all of this in, James, however, was stuck with the words "secret cargo" in his head.

And he knew what Tanaka meant.

Since he was getting a new group of auxiliary kanmusu later that morning, and that he'd need some sleep, he knew that he would need to fill out an action report regarding the 'Battle off Kure Harbor'. Hopefully, Hobe would go ahead and give him the documents right now and he'd be done with that.

But no.

"Mr. Kouichi?"

"Yes, Admiral?"

"Make sure to have your first action report done by the 28th, no later than that." He turned to go with Tanaka and inspect the damage further and discuss about the secret cargo, but grabbed James by his shoulder, whispering:

"_The battleship I mentioned in the Email is a Kongou-class._"

And he left, with James' face suddenly going beady-eyed. Ooyodo noticed something wrong with him. "Sir?"

At the same time, the other girls had come ashore, finally reaching the two.

"ADMIRALL!"

As they came up, they also noticed something was wrong.

"Kouichi-kun… are you okay, poi?" Yuudachi asked him.

He began to grind his teeth. "_PLEASE…GOD…DON'T…LET…IT…BE…_"

"Poi….."

"…_KONGOU…_"

* * *

**8:00 A.M**

… "Wake up!" ...

…_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_…

It was already morning, and although the girls had got up thirty minutes earlier, James was still asleep. He'd been the last to fall asleep, and was splayed out all over the couch, due to the girls leaving him for breakfast in the kitchen.

However, the new kanmusu would arrive at any moment in the day, so someone had to wake him up. And the problem was that no one wanted to, so Ooyodo had an idea.

In the kitchen, the girls played a massive game of rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to wake up "Ol' Tired-Ass" (Which Murakumo herself started calling James).

And Maya lost…

So when she went to wake him up, she tried every kind of method. She even poked him in the face with the barrels from one of her handheld turrets. HER TURRETS.

"Hheeeeyyyyyy…wake uuppp!"

…zzzzz…z…hhnn… "Wha…*Yawn*… time is it?"

Maya sighed. "Well, it's 8 A.M. We decided to get up at 7:30 and let you sleep, but now we need you to get up."

James sat up, sleepy-eyed, and confused.

"Get up and…?"

"…AND MAKE US BREAKFAST YOU IDIOT!" she roared back, the yell's soundwave nearly tipping over the couch with James on it.

"Geez, calm down! Remember that I just woke up."

"Well hurry, 'cause everyone's hungry!"

Then he realized that it was breakfast time."

"_Oh God…_"

* * *

**A few minutes later, in the kitchen.**

"Okay, okay. Everyone chilaaaaahh…"

"Ou! Mooovee. I want first dibs!"

"Kyaa! Commander..."

"Heyy! Get outta the way!"

It was "Oh God" indeed for poor James. Everyone was really hungry (especially the girls that sortied the previous night), so he had cooked seven to eight pans of breakfast casserole, with eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and cheese.

But as soon as he said "Breakfast is ready!", all hell broke loose as the girls started fighting.

Over food.

* * *

**Many more minutes later…**

James sulked as he made his way out to the platform to eat his breakfast.

He'd told the others that he would go out and eat on the station platform and wait for the railcar to arrive. "Meet me there when ya'll get done!" he said.

As he sat on the platform edge eating on his casserole, he still couldn't help but wonder about the new ships coming at any minute, and knew he'd have to deal with whatever would happen… if he got any of the Kongou-class battleships (Which he hopes he won't).

He really needed some food kanmusu, hospital kanmusu, ammunition kanmusu, and other auxiliary kanmusus. He hopes that if he gets Mamiya with this group, he'd be happy at-the-least.

While on the platform, he noticed the island's train crew carrying out shunting tasks in the exported British diesel shunter, moving a cut of flatcars into the pickup track. The process was that once the freight cars were unloaded by the yard crews, the empties would be sorted out onto a siding waiting for a locomotive to pick them up (either the DE10 or the SD40-2), and would take them to a new transfer yard opposite of the bridge, where a mainline locomotive would take the train on to Kure Docks.

This caught his attention away from the direction of the familiar humming of the KiHa 150's hydraulic engine, as the now two-car diesel-multiple unit (Or in railway terms, a DMU) popped out from behind the small hill as it rounded the curve, the wheels screeching loudly against the tight bend.

The screeching finally drew his attention to the DMU, and upon realizing what was about to arrive, he pressed a nearby speaker button, saying:

"_**All personnel report to the train station platform immediately! New kanmusus are arriving at the station located on the south-eastern side of the island! Commander out."**_

And as soon as he finished, he could see the girls scrambling out of the main kitchen/dining building like a pack of rabid dogs. By the time the "Wolfpack" reached the platform, the KiHa was starting to brake.

Isuzu stared over at James, who was shaking nervously. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Yeah," he replied back. "We're supposed to get a battleship."

"Awesome!" she jumped up happily. "But why are you shaking?"

He cleared his throat. "Because…I hope it's not Kongou…"

Suddenly, everyone's pupils shrank, as they realized that the "Black-Tea Monster" would possibly be coming, and that they were scared of her. All of these thoughts cleared as the train came to stop next to the platform, opening the passenger doors.

After everyone exited the train, James got to order the new kanmusu side-by-side, and inspected each of them. They included:

* * *

Ammunition Ship _**Kashino**_: Silver hair tied into a long pony tail with a red and white ribbon, Green eyed, a doll-like face, and slim-bodied. Wears a white blouse with long dark grey skirt (down to knees), tied around her neck is a simple scarf (Ivory and ash grey). Both 4.7 Guns are strapped to her upper arms, bandoliers wrapped around her chest, similar to Rambo, she carries ammo boxes tied to her lower legs and carried a small backpack on her back. armored boots on her feet. the Machine guns are strapped to her hips for access. She can use one at a time or both machine guns. It's very clumsy but she would use both if she's desperate or enraged.

Armed Merchant Cruiser _**Aikoku Maru**_: Blue hair in a page boy cut, purple-eyed, and a body similar to the heavy cruisers of the Takao-class. Primary naval guns strapped to upper arms, carries a machine gun with a spare. Torpedo tubes attached to legs with backpack. the float plane is attached to a mini launcher she can fire strapped to the thigh. She has the rear third of her ship which acts as a large chest. carrying items like a merchant.

Ex Ramb-Class Auxiliary Cruiser/Support Ship _**Ikutagawa Maru**_: Bronze colored hair with dark brown eyes. She wears an eye patch over her right eye but she does not have a missing eye. She can see with both eyes as if the eye patch is not there, rarely does she remove it. her face is kept in either a scowl or unemotional. She is built like the light cruisers. One her right hand is a slave bracelet (A bracelet and ring connected by thin chains). Attached to the chain is symbol of the Japanese navy and her name in kanji. Wears a mixture of an Italian dress with pirate regalia. She has a patch of the IJN flag on her left butt cheek with a black slash through it to show her contempt. 120mm guns strapped to her arms and the anti-aircraft guns as part of the back rigging. She keeps her guns hidden unless (she's one a mission and she has to fight). A large black cutlass is strapped to her waist like a pirate but unlike most weapons. It appears to be made from abyssal metal and glows blue.

First Kinesaki-Class Food Ship _**Kinesaki**_: Black raven hair with a single white stripe as a highlight. Has a left blue eye and a right gold eye. Her rigging consists of the back third of her original ship form. knee high boots that represent the colors from her hull. her weapons are attached to the back rigging. Her depth charges resemble oversize soda can that is strapped to her obi (belt) like grenades.

Second Kinesaki-Class Food Ship _**Hayasaki**_: Black raven hair with a single white stripe as a highlight. Purple eyes. She wears a combination of Russian and Japanese clothes. Her rigging consists of the back third of her original ship form like her older sister. knee high boots that represent the colors from her hull with a bow ties to the left calf. She carries ladles, knives and a long handed fork for cooking.

Third Kinesaki-Class Food Ship _**Shirasuki**_: Black raven hair with a single Gold stripe as a highlight. Green eyes. She wears a Chinese silk dress. Her rigging consists of the back third of her original ship form like her older sisters. Calf high boots that represent the colors from her hull. She also wears a belt with a few cooking utensils and a couple jars and bags of spices.

Kaiyō No.1 Class Oceanographic Research Vessel _**Kaiyou**_: Long Green hair with hazel eyes. Slim athletic figure and a pair of earrings in her left ear, one is an anchor (military part). The other is a ship's wheel (civilian part). Wears a one-piece ocean blue patterned swimsuit with a white scientist jacket over it. Around her waist is a utility belt for her scientific gear and diving goggles on her forehead. She either wears sandals on land or small flippers on water. On her chest is the seal for the Hydrographic Department of Japan. Her name in kanji on the back (When is it visible). Her backpack is a mixture of scientific gear and part of her ships stern. The footwear is from the ship's hull in the form of flippers (She is equally mobile as other ships girls with them). her machine gun is attached to her right thigh and her AA gun is attached to her left forearm but can be held like a hand weapon. One her right upper arm there is a small bridge like structure where her weather fairies live.

Third _Kazahaya_-class fleet oiler _**Hayasui**_: She has short black hair and silver eyes. She wears a white track jacket (with a gym shirt underneath), a pleated black miniskirt, and loafers. She carries a brown handbag with her. The design on her jacket is likely a reference to the long catwalk that would span across the well decks of the ship, a common feature seen on most Oilers and Tankers in that time period.

First Hikawa Maru-Class Hospital Ship _**Hikawa Maru**_: Long black hair tied up into twin ponytails, green eyes, almost as tall as James, and a medium-size bust. She sports a nurse's white cap with a red cross on her head, while wearing a white nurse's uniform with the Red Cross emblem on the chest portion of it and the letters NYK crossed out on the back, and nurse's shoes. Satchels of medical equipment are stacked on a cart she'd brought along with her.

Mamiya-Class Food Supply Ship _**Mamiya**_: She has purple eyes, and long brown hair with an hairclip and a hair ribbon. Wears a kappougi over a pink shirt and a long blue skirt. Has a ship's bridge and funnel as her equipment.

Irako-Class Food Supply Ship _**Irako**_: Bluish-green eyes and long green hair in a ponytail secured with a hair ribbon. Wears a shortened version of Mamiya's outfit with the addition of a necktie.

Kiku Maru-Class Twin Hospital Ships _**Kiku Maru **_and _**Takasago Maru**_: Both ships sport the same features; braded, brown pigtails, hazel eyes and both 5ft 6". Main difference is that unlike Kiku, Takasago has a flat chest. Both sisters wear the standard nurses' uniform. Medical kit packs and books are behind them, James implying that they're both Hikawa's assistants.

And lastly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief for the final ship…

Third Kongou-Class Battlecruiser _**Haruna**_: Brown eyes, and long black hair with a yellow hairclip. She wears a modified miko uniform with differently colored skirts and thigh boots. She also has a golden winged hairband on her head. A big superstructure block with a funnel and four turrets rest beside her belongings.

* * *

"_Whew… At least she's not Kongou…" _James thought to himself. "Okay then, ladies, welcome to Sabo Island Naval Base. I'm Commander Toshiro Kouichi, your Admiral. My name is actually James, but you can call me either one.

The new girls smiled, understanding him. "Yes sir!"

All of the other girls yelled out with a big "YAY!" as they ran over to meet their new friends, except Ikutagawa, who had distanced herself from the crowd. James walked over to her to see what was wrong. "Hey, you're Ikutagawa Maru, right? And what's the matter?"

The reply back was one he didn't expect.

"Yeah, that's my name. And why the fuck would you care you dirty Jap!?"

He got pissed. "WHAT THE FUCK!? I'm Japanese-American, and I've lived in the states since I was a few months old, so don't be calling me a damn 'dirty Jap', you fuckin' ex-Italian…."

***SLAP***

Ikutagawa, at the mention of the word 'Italian', smacked James in the face with her hand, hard enough to send him flying backwards several feet. As soon as he hit the ground, she took off running, nearly in tears, towards a larger recreational building that was under construction (keep in mind that construction fairies were working non-stop by now).

After she disappeared, James sat up, rubbing the bruise on his left cheek, and wondered if the quick racist question had hurt Ikutagawa's feelings. "_Maybe…I'll check on her and apologize later,"_ he thought to himself.

Getting up, he started walking back towards the station platform, when he noticed the girls and the new girls all running in the opposite direction.

"What the…"

"**RUUNNN FOOORR YOOOUUURR LLIIFEEE!"**

He watched them run past him, but stopped Murakumo.

"Hey, what the hell's going on?"

Murakumo paused, then spoke. "Um…remember how you said you didn't want Kongou..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a loud voice echoed throughout the base.

"_**Tttteeeeeeiiiitttttoooooookkkkkkkkuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"**_

James looked, and there, in the distance, was…

First Kongou-Class Battlecruiser _**Kongou**_: Long, brown hair bunched into two braided buns. Green-eyed, and an ahoge sticking out on top of her hair. Has the same headband, miko uniform, and equipment as her younger sister Haruna.

Jaw-dropped, James screamed, running to at least hide somewhere…

…He also could have at least sworn he also heard something about 'black tea' as he ran.

* * *

**I'd like to thank Gem Warrior for creating Ikutagawa Maru, the Kinesaki sisters, Kaiyo, Kashino, and Aikoku Maru. I could definitely use more auxiliary ships as well (like minesweepers, oilers, tugboats, etc…)**

**But anyway, thanks for waiting patiently, and I'll (hopefully) see you guys with chapter 17. **

**Thanks, **

**Aaron.**


	18. A Desu-Mess

**Hey everyone! Time for more review replies:**

Textspeak: **I don't want to disappoint you, but Bismarck is a girl in the game. I'm sorry. I would like to make her a male, but I have to stick with the original character. **

**Anyways, in this chapter, we finally see admiral Kouichi meet the train yard gang, get an explanation on how Kongou ended up at his base so early (Along with Shimakaze's and Maya's punishment), goes to get a drink with Junyou at Houshou's, and finally jump back to present-day.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 17: A Desu-Mess.**_

* * *

**11:15 A.M, June 27****th****, 2023. Sabo Island Railway Office/Shops: **

It had only been minutes since James had ran away from the station platform, mainly because battleship Kongou had made her debut at the naval base. Most of the stories he had heard (via the internet) about her was that she was a heavy black-tea addict, and would go bat-shit insane if she didn't get her cup.

He decided it would be best to head for the island's railway office rather than head towards his own, for he feared that Kongou would follow and pester the living hell out of him there. "Nah," he said to himself out loud, running. "I don't want to get…ggeeehh… 'Desutized'."

Meanwhile, Takuya and Ouka were busy replacing cylinder pistons out of a cylinder block on the DE-10. The locomotive had blown one of its pistons during yard duties the previous day, and was getting repair work done.

"Okay, now we need to put this last piston in, and we're done." Takuya said to Ouka, pointing towards a brand-new cylinder piston assembly. "Give me a hand and help me move this thing, please?"

"Sure."

So both mechanics both grabbed a hold of the cylinder piston, and lifted it. After attaching it to a chain hoist, both mechanics began to pull the piston up, when Houji walked up to the duo.

"Sup!?"

Both looked up to see their foreman. "Hey!"

"So, how's progress on the cylinder replacement coming along?"

Both mechanics looked at him smiling.

"Well," Takuya started. "We are putting the last piston in, and we'll be done."

The old foreman smiled. "Excellent! Need any help?"

"Nah," he exclaimed. "We've…"

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

At that moment, all three mechanics turned to see James running towards them, screaming. Minutes earlier, after having received his third transfer of new shipgirls, he was horrified to find that Kongou had been sent with them, and he knew what she was like.

But James wasn't paying attention to see that the piston rod was in front of him, and before any of the three railway workers could say anything, he hit his crotch on the rod portion of the piston.

*THWACK!*

* * *

**Aboard the Izumo…**

"So, how do today's flight ops' look like?" Admiral Hobe asked.

He was on the _Izumo's_ bridge with Captain Hiroki, and flight operations director Hajime Mitama, discussing the day's plans for air flights off the carrier's deck.

"They look good, sir. We've got the 5th and 7th fighter groups scheduled for patrols over…"

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

A loud, nearly high-pitched yell that could be heard for miles around suddenly shocked everyone.

"JESUS!" Hiroki screamed.

"Sir, what was that?" Mitama asked Hobe.

The Admiral sighed, heavily. "That…was Mr. Kouichi…"

* * *

**Back on the Island…**

At the train shed, the three mechanics stood over James as he laid on his back, while holding his crotch, thriving in pain.

Ouka kneeled down to see if he was alright. "Dude, you okay?"

He looked up at her, smiling as he ground his teeth. "Of…fucking…course not, …why wouldn't I be…!?"

She sweat-dropped. "Um…never mind…"

While Ouka dealt with James, Takuya went to grab him an icepack and gave it to him, to ease the pain. "Here, use this."

James placed the ice pack on his crouch. He gave a sigh of relief as the pain started to go away. "Ahh…much better…"

He paused, looking at three very confused mechanics. "Sooooo…you guys are probably wondering why I came in here screaming like a madman, right?"

All three nodded in unison. "Uh-huh."

"Well..." he began. "…I somehow accidentally managed to get a certain kanmusu in our fleet that I'm scared of."

Houji was the first to ask. "And who might that be?"

"Kongou."

All three mechanics paused for a moment. Ouka spoke up. "She can't be that bad. Besides, I'm a former Kancolle player too, so I wouldn't worry for now."

As he sat up, James begin to rub the back of his head, grinning. "Well, it looks like I'm not the only one who's had experience from a browser game."

"Yeah, woo-hoo…we're throwing a welcome party for you…"

James now felt somewhat excited. "Yaay…I can hardly wait…"

After he stood up, Houji suddenly had an idea: he decided that he could use the young admiral for the rest of the day with the railroad gang and do some of his work, while he could in his office and do paperwork.

"Hey kid," he began. "…do you want to hang out and work with us for the rest of today and avoid that Kongou girl?"

Those few words were a no-brainer. Besides, who wouldn't want to do any side-work and earn some extra money?

But by this point, James was loaded with both credit card and cash money, since his parents were filthy-rich from their successful noodle-shop business. After deciding, he looked up at Houji with a serious look on his face. "I would like to, but I have a fleet to maintain."

Takuya frowned. "Awwww…dang. And we could've used you with helping out on maintenance."

To answer his question, James simply reached for his wallet, turned it upside down, and opened it. Several straps of cash fell out. Immediately, both Ouka and Takuya leaned back with a long "Daaaaaaaammmmnnnnnn!"

"Damn kid, you're loaded!" Houji said, wide-eyed. "Is there anything you'd like us to do?"

He didn't hesitate. "How about you guys join me and the fleet when it comes to Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, ok?"

He got a good response. "Sure."

* * *

**12:00 PM, elsewhere….**

"WHADDYA MEAN HE RAN AWAY!?"

All of the shipgirls, including the new auxillaries, had gathered in the newly-built gymnasium, only to yell furiously at Kongou, the surprise second battleship added to James' fleet today.

Kongou stood in front of them, helpless. She couldn't even speak without getting interrupted. "Ww…well…"

"Well what!?" Ooyodo screamed at her. "You better have a good damn reason why he ran away from the base!"

…

"Oh! He um…went to watch some anime?" Kongou squeaked with a worried smile on her face.

Everyone's faces drooped in a let-down look. And the fact that Ooyodo looked like she was about to explode in anger wouldn't help either, despite Haruna trying to explain to her what had happened.

"Pp..p..please, let me explain!" she wailed nervously, waiving her arms up and down. "She said he ran off because her mere sight scared him." Meanwhile, Kongou stood behind her, arms crossed and grinning.

"_Fufufu_~ Seems to me like my new commander couldn't handle how beautiful I am, desu!"

"I call bullshit!" Maya yelled back.

"Ou! I second that!" Shimakaze yelled with her.

But as soon as both girls called 'bullshit', Ooyodo glanced back at them.

"Says the two idiots who tried to kill our commander via a bear-hug a while back…."

Both destroyer and heavy-cruiser reeled back in shock together in a _"Gggeeehhh...!"_

Immediately, everyone's eyes turned towards them. "_Really…?" _

And the two ships immediately turned their heads away like they knew nothing…

*SLAM*

All-of-a-sudden, James slammed one of the main gym doors, and everyone was surprised. Even the little Rensouhou trio was shocked, hiding behind Shimakaze.

"Um…sir? What are you doing here?" Ooyodo asked, nervously.

"To ask Haruna something," he replied back. "Does that answer your question?"

Ooyodo took a step back, surprised again. "Yes?"

"Good."

James then stepped over to Haruna, who was starting to act shyly towards her new commander. "Sir?"

"Now Haruna, I need to ask you a very certain question."

She began to sweat. "Wha...what is it?"

"Why the hell is **she** here!?" James yelled, pointing over towards Kongou, who was asking a fairy for black tea for no reason. He then turned towards her. "Hey, bunhead! Those fairies can't talk, you know."

Kongou looked back at him, rolling her eyes at him. "Well duh, desu. I know. But they can understand humans and kanmusu. And besides, I've heard Maya-chan and Shimakaze-chan nearly killed you with a hug, am I correct desu?"

"Firstly yes, and second, what did they have to do with my question?"

"Well…" the battlecruiser began, "…they tried to deny what Ooyodo said about the ramen inci…"

Suddenly, James put his hand up. "Ah…say no more." He then turned to Maya and Shimakaze. "You two…"

The two girls squealed with a little "eep!" as he stared at both. "I'll give you two your punishment in a few minutes, but first," he began to speak, "why are you here with your younger sister in the first place, Kongou? I mean, I thought I asked Admiral Hobe for one battleship."

Kongou, without warning, let out a sudden "Oh!" Immediately, she reached for her cleavage, and pulled out a folded-up letter, which she handed to James. "Here you go!"

Taking the letter, he unfolded the letter, and began to read it:

* * *

_Dear Commander Kouichi,_

_I sincerely hope you like your newest additions to your fleet. I thought that it would be silly for you to have a fleet with no auxiliary ships, so I thought that three hospital ships, an ammunition carrier, five food ships, an oiler, an armed merchant cruiser, an oceanographic research vessel, and an ex-Italian cargo ship would satisfy the fleet's needs. I mean, what's a fleet without its supplies? _

_Since you have been in command at Sabo Island for a while now, I have decided to send you a battleship, which you have requested for. I hope that by sending the battlecruiser Haruna would satisfy your request. _

_However, there was a problem with said request. While choosing Haruna, a lab technician got confused and thought the request was for two battleships. So, it wasn't my mistake, but hey, you could use another battleship for base work or reserve. _

_Also, I've been requested by JR Freight to have your railway's foreman send weekly reports describing operations and mechanical works. That way, your base's railway can have good feedback from JR (Japanese Railways)._

_If you need anything, please contact through email. For God's sake, this was embarrassing having Kongou carry that letter in her chest just to give it to you. That's why I'd rather email you._

_-Admiral Hobe_

* * *

"Huh. Makes sense." James stated after folding the letter back up and putting it back in his pocket. "Welcome to the fleet, Kongou."

The battlecruiser could do nothing but cheer a loud "Yay!"

The other girls also cheered as well, while Ikutagawa Maru stood at a distance, her face red from crying and hidden from plain sight in another room, saying "damn that dirty half-Jap bastard and those damn Japs" under her silent breath.

Meanwhile, both Maya and Shimakaze tried to sneak out during the mini-celebration. They would've gotten away with it, had one the Rensouhous following Shimakaze not tripped, making a loud thud on the ground.

Everyone turned.

Both girls' eyes shrunk. "Oh shit…"

* * *

**In the Kitchen, Later, 4:15 P.M…**

"God, my hands are already killing me! Can we take a break?"

"Nope."

As punishment for the bear-hug incident a few nights ago, not only did both Maya and Shimakaze receive a harsh ass-chewing from Ooyodo, James forced them both to do cooking duty for the night's dinner, which was to make a huge pot of ramen for everyone on the island.

"This sucks!" Maya exclaimed. "Why am I having to help her? I wasn't the one who hugged you to near-death."

"Ou…shut up, you meanie!" Shimakaze angrily pouted. "Besides, you can go. My little Rensouhou-chans are here to help me."

James, however, didn't think so. "Like I just said, nope. Maya needs to stay, because God knows if you'll screw this up for us all tonight. That happens, you'll be stuck on dish duty for a week!"

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww….what did I do that night? Did you decide to prank me by taking Ooyodo's side?"

Upon hearing this, both Ooyodo and James slapped themselves in their faces. "You really forgot?" James asked her.

"Um…what did I forget?"

"The fact that you nearly killed me when I said 'I'll see if Admiral Hobe can get Amatsukaze delivered in the fourth transfer of new shipgirls!"

"Huh, really?" Shimakaze asked innocently, tilting her head.

James then slapped himself in the face. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Just then, Ooyodo herself entered the kitchen. "Excuse me sir, but there's something you need to know about Shimakaze."

He glanced back at Ooyodo, confused. "Well, what is it?"

"If you can recall, her speed is really fast, right?"

"Yes, I remember. Your point?"

"According to what I've heard, the inertia of her speed tends to mess with her memory, which makes it easy for her to forget certain things really quick. You can say that she can be a 'scatterbrain', if you'd say."

"Yeah," the young admiral said. "You wouldn't say…" He paused for a moment. "Now then, Shimakaze, should you be getting back to dishwashing? And you Maya, get to helping her now."

"Yes sir…" both girls replied back, sadly.

"Exactly." James replied, both arms crossed and huffing proudly. He turned around, to talk to Ooyodo. "If you need me, I'll be walking around the base. Understood?"

"Okay, and what would you be doing out, commander?" Ooyodo asked.

James stared at her with a 'do-not-ask-me-a-stupid-question' look on his face.

"Oh, sorry…" she said, placing her hand on the back of her head.

"Well," he began, "If you must know, I'm going to see how Mamiya's new café looks, and maybe check on the construction progress at Houshou's. Would you care to join me later?"

"Nope" the light cruiser said, uninterested. "I could care less."

James shrugged. "Oh well, suit yourself."

After that, he walked off, heading for the two places.

* * *

**A Bit Later…**

After walking for a few minutes from the kitchen, James arrived at Mamiya's Café. The day before, he had requested for some of the construction fairies to build a café, not far from the main headquarters, and make the construction quick. On the way there, he had thought about how impressive the new structure would look.

"_Ok_," James began to talk to himself. "_I haven't fully introduced myself to the food ship girls, so I'm gonna try to not make myself look like an idiot_. _Heh, I might try some of the food, and see if they can do all the cooking. That way, I can do it only a few times."_

As he turned the corner of the recently-built gym, he caught his first glimpse of Mamiya's: A traditionally-designed building, like that of other Japanese restaurants, with tiled roofing and wood-braced canvas walls. This one, however, was made large enough to accommodate large numbers of ship girls who would come inside in big parties.

As he opened the maple-varnished oak door at the entrance of the café, a nice, large dining room came into view: long rows of oak tables, each with 10 seats, carved in edo-period styling. Everything was sitting on a floor of navy-blue carpet, with anchor patterns all over. At the front, nearest the door, is a marble-topped counter (where one would walk up to either Mamiya or Irako to order food), complete with a dinner bell and a chalk-written menu hanging above it.

"Hot damn, this is nice!" James exclaimed, impressed with the new restaurant. "Okay, now to the bar. _I bet Junyou is already there…_"

* * *

**A Few Minutes of Walking Later…**

James arrived at Houshou's bar. It was magnificent.

But magnificent wasn't how he couldn't describe the building, as it reminded him of a British tavern, but in pure Japanese style, featuring:

-Booths,

-A very large bottle rack for different kinds of alcohols,

-A very long bar,

-Televisions,

And a kitchen setup, for snacks and whatnot.

Behind the bar, was Kinesaki, one of the new auxiliary girls that just arrived, polishing a mug.

"Um," James began to ask, a curious look on his face, "Kinesaki…isn't it?"

The food ship girl nearly dropped the mug she was polishing. "Hyaa…oh!" she yelped as she caught it. "Yes, I'm Kinesaki, first of the Kinesaki-class food ships, at your service, sir! What can I help you with today?"

He looked puzzled. "If this is Houshou's, then where is she?"

Kinesaki tilted her head, puzzled herself. "Houshou…?"

James eyed her for a few seconds, irritated. Surely, the little kanmusu would know who the first Japanese carrier is.

"Ah…oh yeah, ehehehe. She's not here!" Kinesaki said, knocking herself on the head and sticking her tongue out.

"Oh…," James murmured, rolling his eyes, "…you don't say?" He then eyed some imported Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. "Hey Kinesaki?"

"Sir?" she asked.

"Care to pour me a shot of Jack Daniel's?"

All he got was a "Yes sir!" from her, as she reached for the bottle of whiskey from a shelf. She then opened it and poured it into a shot glass.

"Here you go, sir."

Without hesitating, James grabbed the glass, and took the shot of whiskey quickly…

* * *

**A half-hour and 9-10 more shots of whiskey later…**

"I shred 'bout a free tail with a prints and da hommunduhr other nite…the hommunduhr was on the hrige and…hey! imma let ya…lissen ta me…anyways, the fog… heyyyy, anyways the hommunduhr said…"

After nearly a dozen shots of whiskey, James was already drunk, drinking his stress out. By this time, he was nearly on the verge of falling asleep, so Kinesaki had called for Isuzu to come and piggyback him to his bedroom.

"I know, Kouichi-san," the light cruiser replied, somewhat confused by her commander's slurred speech, "I understand that…"

*ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

Before she could say anything else, James literally fell asleep on Isuzu's back, and started snoring loudly.

Isuzu smiled, softly. She had never seen her admiral this drunk before, and was keen on getting him back to his bed. It had been one heck of a day for her admiral: dealing with new kanmusu, an unexpected black-tea demon, an unexpected meeting with the railroad crew, a letter explaining a misunderstanding, a punishment, and a small base tour, which led to drinking his stress away for the day.

Surely, things would get more stressful as time passed, but with everyone's help, things could hopefully go smoother.

* * *

**And dear God, it's been so, so long. Sorry for the wait, but a lot of things have happened: **

**-Got my job back,**

**-Graduated with an Associates degree,**

**-and still writing. **

**I'll see you next time! Present-day ch.18, "Severed", is next (hopefully)!**


End file.
